Gunmen have attacked a Malian army base in a dawn raid, killing 11 soldiers and burning the camp in west-central Mali, the army and a local lawmaker say.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Central Mali has in the past few years been overrun by jihadists with links to al-Qaeda.

The unidentified armed assailants attacked the base in Guire district at 5am local time on Sunday after approaching in a convoy of 11 vehicles, local lawmaker Niame Keita said.

"They burnt the camp and took equipment," he said.

In a statement, the defence ministry confirmed the attack and said 11 soldiers were killed and more were wounded. Keita had earlier said 12 were reported killed.

In March, an al-Qaeda affiliate said it was behind a similar overnight attack on an army base in the central region of Mopti in which 16 soldiers were killed.

Escalating violence led to the resignation last week of the entire Malian government.

The authorities have come under fire for failing to beat back militants and disarm militias, after a massacre of 157 villagers by an ethnic vigilante group shocked the nation in March.

Both Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso have been hit by the spike in hostilities fuelled by Islamist militants seeking to extend their influence over the Sahel, an arid region between Africa's northern Sahara desert and its southern savannas. </s> NIAMEY — Unidentified gunmen have killed 16 soldiers in an attack on a military camp in western Niger, local residents and security sources said on Tuesday.

The raid occurred on Monday afternoon near the town of Inates, close to the border with Mali, where Islamist militants are active, and in the same region where an ambush by Islamic State’s West African branch killed 28 soldiers in May.

Niger hosts the African Union summit from July 6-9 less than 200 km (125 miles) away in the capital Niamey. In the run-up, the European Union has been training Nigerien forces to respond to militant attacks.

Zakari Insa, the brother of one of the soldiers killed in Monday’s attack, and Souley Marou, a local villager, both said 16 soldiers had died.

Two security sources confirmed the death toll, and one of them said about a dozen vehicles had been stolen. Jihadists have previously launched attacks using vehicles stolen in previous raids.

An army spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Security has deteriorated in recent months across West Africa’s Sahel region, a semi-arid strip of land south of the Sahara. France and the United States have deployed thousands of troops to the region to counter jihadist groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The attacks have also helped to stoke ethnic violence between rival farming and herding communities, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Militants loyal to Adnan Abu Waleed al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, operate along Mali’s border with Burkina Faso and Niger.

In 2017, they killed four members of U.S. special forces and four Nigerien soldiers in an ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo. </s> At least 10 Malian soldiers were killed on Sunday in an attack by alleged jihadists against an army camp in the town of Guiré (centre), near the border with Mauritania, a Malian security source said.

“At least ten soldiers were killed, the terrorists came from the Wagadou forest”, a refuge for Malian Islamists for years, said this security source under cover of anonymity.

“They were on motorcycles and pickup trucks. They attacked the camp, vehicles were burned, others taken away,” according to the same source.

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) confirmed the attack on Twitter: “The #FAMa were attacked on Sunday, April 21, 2019 at around 5 a.m. in #Guiré, in the #Nara sector. Reinforcements were sent there. The evaluations are ongoing.

“The shots were like rain. The military was surprised. The jihadists came from the east and south of the military camp. They burned vehicles and left with vehicles. I saw two terrorists put their motorcycles in the army vehicle and drive away with them,” said a local resident contacted by AFP.

According to a Malian military source, reinforcements were dispatched from Nara, 370 km north of Bamako and 105 km from Guiré.

Northern Mali had fallen in March-April 2012 under the control of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda. These groups have been largely driven out by an international military intervention, launched in January 2013 at the initiative of France, which continues.

But entire areas of the country are still beyond the control of Malian, French and UN forces, which are regularly targeted by attacks, despite the signing in May-June 2015 of a peace agreement, which is supposed to definitively isolate jihadists, whose implementation is running behind schedule.

Since 2015, these attacks have spread to central and southern Mali and the phenomenon is spreading to neighbouring countries, particularly Burkina Faso and Niger, very often mixing with inter-community conflicts.

An Egyptian peacekeeper was killed and four members of his unit injured on Saturday by a mine explosion as their convoy passed through the centre of the country, near the border with Burkina Faso, according to the UN. </s> At least 18 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack on an army barracks near the border between Mali and Mauritania, local police told EFE on Sunday.

The attack took place in the southwestern town of Guire, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the capital of Bamako, at around 5 am local time and was carried out by a group of heavily armed attackers who then fled the scene.

"The terrorists came out of the forest. They were on motorcycles and pick-up trucks. They burned vehicles and took away others," a source with the Malian security forces told media outlets.

Among the dead is Capt. Bagayogo, who commanded the military installation. Two people who were wounded were evacuated to the capital due to the severity of their injuries.

The attackers also stole 16 military vehicles, as well as a significant number of weapons, along with ammunition, before fleeing, taking their own wounded with them.

Eyewitnesses in Guire said that the barracks was "completely destroyed" and 10 vehicles had been burned.

One local resident said that the military "were taken by surprise" by heavy gunfire in the attack, adding "I saw two terrorists put their motorcycles in an army vehicle and drive off with it."

The Malian army dispatched reinforcements from the nearby base in Nara with an eye toward pursuing the raiding party, but it is thought that they were able to escape into neighboring Mauritania to the north.

Malian military forces have been the target of ongoing attacks by different Malian jihadist groups, including one called Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (Group to Support Islam and Muslims), which has been incorporated into Al Qaeda.

So far, however, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier on the weekend, one UN peacekeeper - an Egyptian - was killed and four others were wounded when a mine exploded as their convoy was passing through central Mali.

Currently, German army troops are among those deployed in the city of Gao, in northeastern Mali, to carry out duties as part of the United Nations' MINUSMA peacekeeping force, which is carrying out what has proven to be the deadliest active UN mission in the world, with 195 deaths as of the end of March.

The mission was launched in 2013 but has been under constant threat from extremist groups in Mali's huge and largely unpopulated northern desert who have been attempting to move south into more populated areas.

Sunday's attack came as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is engaging in consultations and negotiations prior to designating a new prime minister. Earlier this week, the country's former prime minister - Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga - resigned, along with his entire cabinet, after the massacre of some 160 people in Ogossagou. </s> Unidentified gunmen on Saturday killed at least 14 soldiers in central Mali, an area targeted by a growing wave of attacks by Islamist militants, when they overran a military camp early on Saturday, two army officers said.

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West Africa’s arid Sahel region is suffering a spike in violence by militant groups, some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, that is drawing an increasingly aggressive response from countries including France and the United States.

The military camp in the town of Soumpi, near the southern boundary of Mali’s Timbuktu region, came under attack at around 6 a.m. (0600 GMT).

“The provisional toll is 14 dead, 17 wounded and two enemies killed. The search is still on for those missing,” one of the sources said.

The second source said “around 15” soldiers had been killed.

“The soldiers abandoned their position. The enemy carried away material,” he said.

Both sources asked not to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Islamist fighters seized control of Mali’s northern desert regions in 2012 before being driven back by a French-led intervention a year later.

But despite the presence of a U.N. peacekeeping mission and troops operating under a regional French anti-militant mission, violence is again on the rise and attacks are spreading further south towards the capital, Bamako.

>> Video: FRANCE 24 follows special forces fighting Sahel militants

A landmine explosion blew up a civilian passenger vehicle near the central Mali village of Boni on Thursday, killing 26 people and wounding several others.

In a separate incident on the same day in the nearby town of Youwarou, the Malian military said its forces repelled an attack by suspected Islamist fighters.

Mali and its western neighbour Senegal plan to deploy 1,000 troops soon in an operation to pacify central Mali and contain jihadists who had previously been confined to its Saharan expanses in the north.

But analysts doubt they will be able to do so purely through military means. The Islamists exploit the grievances of Fulani cattle herders and their disputes with local farmers over access to grazing lands.

The government’s periodic crackdowns on suspected jihadists have therefore tended to target the Fulani, driving some of them into the arms of the armed groups.

(REUTERS) </s> NIAMEY, July 2 (Reuters) - At least 18 soldiers in western Niger were killed and four others were missing after suspected Islamist militants blew up two cars and fired on a military camp, the army said on Tuesday.

The raid occurred on Monday afternoon near the town of Inates, close to the border with Mali, where militants are active, and in the same region where an ambush by Islamic State's West African branch killed 28 soldiers in May.

Niger hosts the African Union summit from July 6-9 less than 200 km (125 miles) away in the capital Niamey. In the run-up, the European Union has been training Nigerien forces to respond to militant attacks.

Former colonial power France has more 4,000 troops in West Africa's Sahel region, a semi-arid strip of land south of the Sahara, and often carries out air strikes on militants linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

A security source said that about a dozen vehicles were stolen in the raid. Jihadists have previously launched attacks using vehicles stolen in earlier raids.

Security has deteriorated across the Sahel in recent months due to both jihadist attacks and deadly ethnic reprisals involving rival farming and herding communities, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Militants loyal to Adnan Abu Waleed al-Sahrawi, the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, operate along Mali's border with Burkina Faso and Niger.

In 2017, they killed four members of U.S. special forces and four Nigerien soldiers in an ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo. </s> BAMAKO, Mali – Authorities in northern Mali say at least 14 people are dead after suspected jihadists attacked an army camp.

The attack Saturday morning occurred in the Timbuktu region near the village of Soumpi.

An official from a nearby community who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from jihadists confirms that 14 people were dead and 22 others wounded.

Malian army spokesman Col. Diarran Kone confirms the attack by armed men but says the military does not yet have a casualty toll.

Northern Mali was controlled by a number of jihadist groups until a French-led military operation five years ago. The extremists merely dispersed and have continued to regularly attack Malian military installations as well as U.N. peacekeepers. </s> Niamey/Nairobi — At least 18 soldiers in western Niger were killed and four others were missing after suspected Islamist militants blew up two cars and fired on a military camp, the army said on Tuesday.

The raid occurred on Monday afternoon near the town of Inates, close to the border with Mali, where militants are active, and in the same region where an ambush by Islamic State's (IS's) West African sect killed 28 soldiers in May.

Niger hosts the African Union summit from July 6-9 less than 200km away in the capital, Niamey. In the run-up, the EU has been training Nigerien forces to respond to militant attacks.

An army statement said the attack began with the explosion of the two car bombs before additional assailants opened fire from motorcyles. The army's "partners" then responded with air strikes to force them across the border into Mali.

Former colonial power France has more than 4,000 troops in West Africa's Sahel region, a semi-arid strip of land south of the Sahara, and often carries out air strikes on militants linked to IS and Al-Qaeda.

A security source said that about a dozen vehicles were stolen in the raid. Jihadists have previously launched attacks using vehicles stolen in earlier raids.

Security has deteriorated across the Sahel in recent months due to both jihadist attacks and deadly ethnic reprisals involving rival farming and herding communities, particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Militants loyal to Adnan Abu Waleed al-Sahrawi, the leader of IS in the Greater Sahara, operate along Mali's border with Burkina Faso and Niger.

In 2017, they killed four members of US special forces and four Nigerien soldiers in an ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo. </s> A group of gunmen who disguised themselves as traditional hunters have surrounded a Mali village and killed at least 134 Fulani herders.

Key points:

 Pregnant women, children and the elderly were among those slain

 The attack may have been in retaliation after an Al Qaeda-linked group killed 23 soldiers

 Jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali

 It was the deadliest such attack of recent times in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence.

The Fulani ethnic group are semi-nomadic, primarily Muslim and live in various West African nations.

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, said armed men, dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, encircled and attacked Ogossagou.

“We are provisionally at 134 bodies recovered by the gendarmes [military police],” Mr Guindo said.

He said another nearby Fulani village, Welingara, had also been attacked, causing “a number” of deaths, but he did not yet know how many.

Security sources said the dead included pregnant women, children and elderly people.

The armed attacks took place as a United Nations Security Council mission visited Mali seeking solutions to violence that killed hundreds of civilians last year and is spreading across West Africa’s Sahel region.

One Ogossagou resident, who asked not to be identified, said the attack appeared to be in retaliation, after an Al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for a raid last week that killed 23 soldiers.

That group said that raid was payback for violence by Mali’s army and militiamen against the Fulani.

Jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years to boost recruitment and render vast swathes of territory virtually ungovernable.
Suspected jihadist militants attack a Malian military base in the town of Guiré, Koulikoro Region, killing ten soldiers.