A Malian army camp in Gao was targeted in a suicide attack on Friday, following two attacks attributed to jihadists that killed over 70 people in the northern part of the country the previous day.
On Friday, September 8, the army mentioned in a brief social media message an “complex” attack in the airport area, which implies that it involved different means. They did not provide a casualty count, only saying that “response and assessment are ongoing.” Very few details are available. An airport employee contacted by AFP reported an attack carried out using two suicide vehicles accompanied by gunfire. The airport was closed, he said.
This attack comes amid increasing pressure from armed groups on the state in the north in recent weeks, raising fears of a surge in violence. At least 64 people, including 49 civilians and 15 soldiers, were killed on Thursday between Gao and Timbuktu.
The two separate attacks attributed to jihadists targeted the ship Tombouctou on the Niger River and a military position in Bamba, in the Gao region, according to a government statement that does not specify how many people died on the ship and in the military base. The attack in Bamba was claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM or JNIM according to the Arabic acronym), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist alliance, on the Al-Zallaqa propaganda platform, according to SITE, an American NGO specializing in monitoring radical groups.
