Armed groups attack Malian military convoy in Gao region

Mali says counterattack under way as rebels claim they inflicted ‘human losses’ and ‘material damage’ on troops.

Mali’s army says it has launched a counterattack after fighters linked to al-Qaeda and members of a separatist group ambushed soldiers in the volatile north.

The Malian military said in a statement on Saturday that armed groups ambushed a convoy in a remote part of the Gao region.

Both the regional al-Qaeda affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), and the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed responsibility for the attack in separate statements that spoke about “great human losses” and “serious material damage” on the side of the Malian army.

The army has not provided details of its losses but said its partners were also attacked, likely referring to Russian paramilitaries or mercenaries.

“Our convoy that was leaving Anefis for Gao was attacked this morning near Tabankort. The fighting is ongoing. It is an ambush,” a military source based in Gao told the AFP news agency.

Mali has been in the grip of a security crisis for more than 14 years.

The FLA seeks to establish an independent state in northern Mali. Meanwhile, JNIM is considered the deadliest armed group of its kind in West Africa.

JNIM seeks to capture more territory and currently controls swaths of rural land. The fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis, with more than five million people – almost 20 percent of the population – in need of assistance.

AFP reported that images released by the FLA purportedly showed dozens of army prisoners seized during the ambush.

The rebels also released footage that they said showed Malian soldiers surrendering.

In the video, the rebels appear to shoot at some of the soldiers as they lie on the ground.

The ambush occurred as the Malian army convoy was travelling from the strategic northern town of Anefis to Gao.

On July 10, the Malian army confirmed it had retaken Anefis in an operation that killed about 30 of its soldiers and injured about 60 others. The town had been seized by the FLA and JNIM six days earlier. The FLA said it lost some of its best fighters during the offensive.