Al-Qaida-linked group claims attack against Mali army position near Senegal

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) – Armed men attacked a Mali community just over the border from Senegal, Mali’s military said Tuesday – an development that one expert called especially worrying as the deadly violence spreads.

The al-Qaida-linked JNIM extremist group claimed responsibility for the coordinated attack on several Malian army positions in the country’s west and central regions.

One position was in Diboli, across the border from Senegal, which has been largely spared the extremist attacks.

“The border region to Senegal is a major gateway for trade and imports from Dakar ports to Mali that had been relatively stable for years,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. “This will also worry border communities in Senegal.”

Malian army spokesperson Col. Majo Souleymane Dembélé said on national television that the army had “neutralized” 80 attackers. There were no details on any casualties among soldiers.

Mali, a landlocked nation in the semiarid Sahel region, for more than a decade has battled an insurgency by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups, Mali’s authorities have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for assistance, but the security situation has been deteriorating.

Attacks by extremists have been on the rise in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso in recent weeks. JNIM has established a strong presence in both.