Malian security forces say they have repelled a major assault by Islamist militants on a military installation in the central town of San, killing about 40 attackers during the confrontation.
The armed group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which is linked to al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the raid and said its fighters had managed to seize the military camp temporarily.
Military officials rejected claims that the base had been captured, although they acknowledged that troops were forced to withdraw briefly during the intense fighting.
Lieutenant Colonel El Oumrani, commander of the 23rd Regiment stationed at San, said the military had regained control of the situation and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.
He said approximately 40 militants were killed and assured residents that the garrison remained firmly in the hands of government forces.
“The camp of the 23rd is not empty,” he said, adding that soldiers were still stationed at the facility.
Witnesses cited by French broadcaster RFI said the assault began at about 5:00 a.m. local time on Sunday and continued for nearly two hours.
According to the accounts, the attackers arrived on motorcycles and on foot, with some reportedly wearing military clothing in an attempt to infiltrate the compound.
One witness said the militants succeeded in entering the base and remained there for an extended period before withdrawing.
Fighting was also reported several hundred metres from the installation, with some attackers reportedly taking refuge inside nearby homes while others escaped into surrounding woodland.
Security and local sources told AFP that at least 10 members of the Malian military were killed during the confrontation.
The sources also said the militants briefly gained control of parts of the facility.
Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM reported that the attackers deployed drones, heavy-calibre weapons and armoured vehicles in an attempt to break through the camp’s defences.
The incident highlights the worsening security crisis in Mali, where Islamist violence has persisted for more than a decade.
An insurgency that emerged in the north in 2012 has since spread into central and southern regions, with government forces struggling to maintain authority across large parts of the country.
The latest escalation follows a series of coordinated attacks in April by jihadist fighters and separatists affiliated with the Azawad Liberation Front, which seeks to challenge the military government headed by General Assimi Goïta.
Goïta took power in a 2020 coup, partly amid widespread frustration over the authorities’ inability to contain the insurgency.
During the April violence, Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in what authorities described as an apparent suicide truck attack targeting his residence near Bamako.
JNIM has increasingly expanded its battlefield activities beyond Mali’s traditional conflict zones, carrying out attacks in the centre and south of the country.
The group’s growing reach has raised concerns about the ability of the military authorities to prevent armed groups from extending their influence deeper into national territory.
Following the 2020 coup, Mali ended its long-standing military cooperation with France and sought greater security assistance from Russia as it pursued a different strategy against the jihadist insurgency.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong