New bloody attack in Mali.
At least 17 soldiers and 4 civilians were killed on Sunday, 9 other soldiers are missing, after an attack attributed to jihadists in the town of Tessit located in the so-called three-border area between Mali, Burkina and Niger.
The results are "always provisional and likely to change", according to a press release from the Malian army released on Monday, which says it killed seven enemies "probably from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and benefiting from drone and artillery support with use of explosives and vehicle bombs”.
The Malian staff also reports 22 wounded in the army, significant material losses including three destroyed vehicles and damage to other vehicles, Fama installations and civilian homes.
Some civilians killed are local elected officials, relatives of the victims told AFP on condition of anonymity.
On the "enemy" side, in addition to the seven killed, the army evokes "an unknown number of dead and wounded carried away by the attackers".
A previous assessment of the army gave 4 soldiers and 2 civilians killed, as well as 5 dead "enemy side".
Strategic area
The sector of Tessit, located on the Malian side of the three-border zone, in a huge rural bush region not controlled by the state, is frequently the scene of clashes and attacks.
Armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda, gathered under the leadership of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM, JNIM in Arabic), are fighting the Islamic State group in the Greater Sahara (EIGS), affiliated with the organization IS.
The jihadists seek control of this strategic and auriferous zone.
The Malian army, installed in a military camp next to the town of Tessit, has also often been taken to task in this region and in particular in Tessit.
In this area sometimes called the "Malian Gourma" also operate peacekeepers from the UN mission in Mali.
As for civilians, as elsewhere in Mali, they are caught in the crossfire of these actors in the conflict, and accused of being allies with one when they are not with the other.
Residents of the area have fled by the thousands, notably to the large neighboring town of Gao, some 150 km to the north.
Departure from Barkhane
French soldiers from Operation Barkhane also carried out operations there a few months ago.
They are preparing to leave their last base in Mali, in Gao, to redeploy to Niger.
On Sunday, the Barkhane force announced that it had neutralized a cadre and several jihadist fighters, in the Telatai region, 200 km northeast of Gao, after having identified them "thanks to the cross-checking of different sources of information".
In a very degraded security context, the junta has decided to separate from the old French ally present in Mali for nine years, and to relaunch cooperation with Russia.
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