Nine Malian military personnel killed in terrorist attack

This Wednesday the Malian Armed Forces, known as FAMa, have suffered a new attack in one of their camps that has left 9 dead and 6 other soldiers wounded. The attack took place in the military camp that the army has in Boni, a locality on the route that links the important enclaves of Sevare and Gao.

FAMa reported the attack in a statement issued around midnight. They also stated that the wounded were taken to Sevare by Malian and MINUSMA air assets, the United Nations mission in the country.

According to the communiqué, some twenty terrorists were killed, along with several of the motorbikes they frequently use to gain mobility in this desert area. In addition, an armoured vehicle that the attackers were carrying was immobilised, something more unusual and which shows that their capabilities are increasing despite the blows that French and Malian operations are carrying out against their structures and material means. The same communiqué stresses that the attack was supported by French forces to repel the attack.

The attack has been claimed by the Al Qaeda branch in the region, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM). JNIM has also been blamed for the latest attacks against French forces in the past two months, which left five French military personnel dead and several others wounded.

The situation in the Sahel, especially in Mali, is drastic. The high mobility of terrorist groups means that MINUSMA troops, FAMa, French troops in Barkhane, EUTM-Mali and the G5-Sahel Joint Force must be on constant alert. It also makes it all the more necessary to extend their presence throughout the territory, but this means smaller and more vulnerable bases, something that terrorists have taken advantage of on more than one occasion.

In addition to all this, there is also the fatigue that France is experiencing due to the enormous economic effort that such a deployment entails, with 5,100 troops as well as material resources on the ground and in the air, and the human cost of its presence in the region, with more than fifty deaths.

Because of all this, the coming months could be crucial for Mali and for the region. Firstly, the outcome of last summer's coup that led to the resignation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, which should lead to an electoral process that will bring Malian society and its political class back together again. Second, the gradual arrival of more troops from European countries will increase capacities to combat terrorism. Third, the extension of EUTM-Mali to the region as a whole will increase the number of troops in the armed forces of the countries that will be trained, consolidating the independence of the countries in combating the jihadist phenomenon. And finally, the summit in N'Djamena, Chad, in the coming days between the G5-Sahel countries and France, at which the situation in the country and the role to be played by the G5 and its Joint Force of around 5,000 troops will be discussed.

France has already tried to convince the United States, following the arrival of Joe Biden, to expand its presence in the region, but the new administration has shown no intention of increasing it, so it will continue to provide logistical support, mainly air support, along with the availability of Reaper drones for intelligence, surveillance and airstrike tasks.

Paris will also use the summit to officialise the departure of the 600 troops with which the Barkhane operation was expanded a year ago at the Pau summit, which the N'Djamena summit intends to continue. In this sense, it is hoped that the G5 Joint Force will gain presence and weight in the region, to ensure that the Sahel countries gain greater independence and involvement in the fight against terrorism.