More than 30 people have been killed in near-simultaneous attacks on two villages in central Mali, local, security and administrative sources said, in the latest sign of a worsening security crisis facing the country’s military government.
The assaults struck the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou on Wednesday and were claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, an al-Qaeda-linked coalition active across the Sahel. A local youth official told AFP that at least 35 people were killed, while security and administrative sources also put the death toll above 30. The West African journalists’ network WAMAPS said the provisional toll could exceed 50, with several people still missing.
According to local reports, homes and property were looted and some buildings set on fire. A security source said the attacks appeared to be retaliation for actions by Dan Nan Ambassagou, a Dogon-dominated self-defence militia that has long operated in central Mali despite government orders to disband. The source said many of the dead were militiamen, though teenagers and children were also among the victims.
The Malian army said Thursday it had conducted a targeted operation against “terrorist armed groups” in the area and that around a dozen fighters had been “neutralised.” It did not provide further details.
The attacks came less than two weeks after one of Mali’s most serious insurgent offensives in years. On April 25, JNIM fighters and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front launched coordinated attacks on military and strategic sites, including Kati, a key garrison town near Bamako, and Kidal in the north. Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in the violence, prompting junta leader Assimi Goita to assume the defence portfolio himself.
Central Mali has been a flashpoint for years, with jihadist groups, ethnic militias, criminal networks and government forces all accused of abuses. The region has witnessed repeated massacres, including the 2019 killings in Ogossagou, the 2022 massacre in Moura, and deadly JNIM-linked attacks in Diallassagou.
Mali has been under military rule since coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta expelled French forces and turned to Russia for security support, but violence has continued to spread. The latest attacks underscore the growing reach of armed groups and the mounting pressure on Bamako as both jihadist and separatist forces challenge state authority.
