At least three civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed in separate attacks in central Mali, the army said, the latest round of attacks as insecurity worsens in the West African nation.
Two attacks Wednesday targeted Mali army positions in the center of the country, and the army fought back killing at least 48 assailants, said army spokesman Col. Souleymane Dembele.
“Malian Armed Forces repelled terrorist attacks targeting positions in Sévaré, Sokolo and Kalumba early this Wednesday,” he said in a statement. The soldiers killed include “six dead in Sokolo” and “12 dead, including 3 civilians, in Kalumba, in the Nara region,” the statement said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they bear the mark of jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida which are present in those areas and whose local leader, Amadou Koufa, sent a message a few weeks ago urging his fighters to intensify attacks against the Malian army.