At least 5 killed, 20 wounded after attack on military base in Mali

Bamako, Sep 19 (EFE).- Five soldiers were killed and another 20 wounded in an attack on a military base in the village of Léré in the Timbuktu region, northern Mali, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) reported late Monday.

The Malian army said in a statement that they reacted to a “complex attack by terrorists aboard vehicles and motorbikes” on Sunday, which also left 11 missing people and material damage that is currently under evaluation.

According to the statement, a military plane caught fire after a forced landing and search works are underway to find the crew.

FAMa didn’t provide details about the attackers’ identity but reported that seven “abandoned” bodies were found at the military base.

“Eight vehicles equipped with heavy weapons (were) destroyed with their occupants, an estimated (number of) 30, (who were) neutralised,” the statement read, adding that FAMa troops reacted with “professionalism” to the attack.

Mali rebels from the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), a coalition that brings together the nationalist movements of the Azawad region in northern Mali, claimed they had attacked the military base, shot down one of the military planes and taken control of Léré.

After a truce that has lasted 8 years, hostilities revived between the Tuareg separatists and the central government –currently led by a military junta– coinciding with the withdrawal of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). EFE

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