Mali: at least 9 soldiers killed in the attack on a camp in Boni, in the center
Members of the Malian Armed Forces on patrol, 2019 (illustrative image) Agnes COUDURIER / AFP
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3 min
At least 9 Malian soldiers were killed on Wednesday February 3 during a jihadist attack in the town of Boni, located in central Mali.
The French army intervened alongside the Malian army.
According to the latter, around twenty jihadists were killed.
But unusually, the attackers used an armored vehicle.
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With our correspondent in Bamako,
Serge Daniel
It is not frequent in this part of Mali to see the jihadists operating with an armored vehicle.
If its provenance is currently unknown, sources recall that the jihadists in recent years have kidnapped armored vehicles belonging to armies from Sahel countries.
And these devices can then be found from one country to another.
The attack on the military camp in the town of Boni is far from an asymmetric war.
“
This is an armed operation
,” says an expert.
At 6 am on Wednesday, this Malian army camp located in this central locality was stormed by heavily armed men equipped, in addition to an armored vehicle, motorcycles.
The Malian soldiers made a tactical retreat and headed outside the camp to face the enemy, and wait for reinforcements.
Other sources claim that the jihadists were able to enter the camp for a while.
The Malian army does not confirm.
On the other hand, it confirms that the French army intervened: using a drone, but also with strikes from planes and helicopters.
On the Allied side, at least nine Malian soldiers lost their lives and other wounded were transported by a helicopter from the UN Mission in Mali (Minusma).
On the attackers side, according to the Malian army, around twenty jihadists were killed, an armored vehicle destroyed as well as motorcycles.
The attack was claimed by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, affiliated with al-Qaeda.
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