Five Malian soldiers were killed and 11 are missing after an attack targeting two military barracks, for which a coalition of Tuareg-dominated armed groups in northern Mali claimed responsibility, the army said Monday night.
The army also explained that it lost a plane but “neutralized” more than thirty attackers during battles in Liri, in a statement published on social media. The attack was attributed to "terrorists."
The Coordination of Azawad Movements, an alliance of Tuareg-dominated separatist groups, claimed responsibility for the attack and control of two military barracks on Sunday in Liri, southwest of Timbuktu, and said it had also shot down a Malian army plane.
The attackers then left the place voluntarily, or were expelled by army reinforcements supported by air force, according to conflicting accounts from both sides.
This operation is the latest in a series of attacks on Malian army positions in the north of the country, which in recent weeks has witnessed an intensification of the activities of separatist and extremist armed groups.
It is worth noting that in 2015, the agreement was signed by an Algerian woman to stop battles between Tuareg-led separatist movements in Azawad and the government that began in 2012, but these movements accuse the government of freezing it.
The new conflict in Mali pours more fuel on the fire of local conflicts in Central and West Africa, accompanied by an escalation in attacks by terrorist groups, leaving the region lying on a powder keg.
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