Death toll from terrorist attack on Mali army increases to 16

BAMAKO, Oct. 8 : The death toll from Wednesday's terrorist attack in central Mali has risen to 16, with nine wounded, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said on its website Thursday. "Following the complex terrorist attack perpetrated on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, around 11:25 a.m. against a convoy of FAMa on the Bandiagara and Koro road, the balance sheet on the FAMa side has changed.

We deplore 16 dead and nine wounded," the army said. "The entire Malian nation salutes the bravery of these valiant soldiers." In a statement issued on Wednesday, the public relations department of the army established a provisional assessment of nine soldiers killed, 11 wounded, 15 terrorists killed and 20 motorcycles seized.

A peacekeeper of the United Nations was killed and four were seriously injured following the explosion of an artisanal mine hit by a mission vehicle in northeastern Mali on Saturday. Since 2012, Mali has been facing deep and multifaceted crises in security, politics and economy.

Local insurrections, jihadist incursions and inter-communal violence have caused thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of displacements.