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Dozens of Soldiers Killed in Attack on Military Camp in Mali

This file photo shows Malian soldiers attending a training session at the Menaka military base. © Thomas Coex, AFP
This file photo shows Malian soldiers attending a training session at the Menaka military base. © Thomas Coex, AFP
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Dozens of Soldiers Killed in Attack on Military Camp in Mali

This file photo shows Malian soldiers attending a training session at the Menaka military base. © Thomas Coex, AFP
This file photo shows Malian soldiers attending a training session at the Menaka military base. © Thomas Coex, AFP

A militant attack on a military camp in central Mali on Friday killed 27 soldiers and 47 "terrorists" were "neutralized", the country's army said, AFP reported.

The fighting left 33 soldiers injured, 21 seriously, and seven are missing, the army added in a statement, while 23 other suspects were "neutralized" later in the day.

The West African state has been battling militant movements affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the ISIS group for almost a decade, with around two-thirds of its territory outside state control.

A French military source speaking on condition of anonymity said hundreds of militants attacked the camp of around 150 soldiers close to 0600 GMT, putting the death toll between 40 and 50.

Mali's army said the attack happened around 0530 GMT.

The militants seized 21 vehicles, including tanks, and injured more than 20 soldiers, the source added.

The source said Mali's army did not request support from France's Barkhane military operation because the camp was "where Barkhane was asked not to operate, probably because of the presence of Wagner mercenaries", referring to the Russian paramilitary group.

A military official had told AFP the army and air force "reacted vigorously".

The Mondoro base is near Mali's border with Burkina Faso and has previously been targeted by militants fighting the Malian state and foreign forces.

Around 50 soldiers died after an attack on Mondoro and the nearby Boulkessi camp in September 2019.

France's military said around 100 attackers were "routed" following a mission between Barkhane and Mali's army against militants attempting to take the base in January 2021.

Militant and separatist fighters -- some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the ISIS group -- began operations in Mali in 2012 and the conflict has since spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, killing and displacing thousands of civilians.

Friday's attack comes as the military landscape in the Sahel shifts following France's decision to withdraw from Mali and the arrival of Russian instructors, which the West says are Wagner mercenaries.

Diplomatic relations between Bamako's military junta and Paris have deteriorated in recent months as West Africa's regional bloc imposed harsh sanctions on the Malian government's delay to return to civilian rule.

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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
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Russia Stages First Missile Attack on Kyiv Since August

Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer
Rescuers work at a site of a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine August 27. REUTERS/Stringer

Blasts boomed across Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August, forcing elderly women and small children to take shelter in an underground metro station.
Ukrainians have been waiting for a big missile attack for months, worried that it could deal a new blow to the hobbled energy system and cause long blackouts as winter sets in.
Air defenses intercepted two incoming cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 drones across the country, the air force said. No casualties or major damage were reported in Kyiv.
"Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram.
Falling debris came down in the region outside Kyiv, injuring a 48-year-old man and causing a fire at a warehouse, the head of Kyiv region's administration said.
Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. City mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
"Explosions in the city. Air defense forces are working. Stay in shelters!" the Kyiv city administration wrote on Telegram.
Around 100 residents took shelter in the central metro station Universitet, including small children sleeping on yoga mats and elderly women sitting on fold-out chairs.
Some complained of a lack of sleep from the regular drone attacks, which trigger the air raid alert that sounds across the city and buzzes on phones.
"The mornings are totally ruined. I started college in September and every morning has been ruined by the bloody Russians. I cannot sleep, cannot think and I drink energy drinks all the time," said Mykyta, a teenager hugging his dog in the metro.
MASSIVE ATTACK
Russia targeted Ukrainian power facilities with strikes earlier this year, causing blackouts. The situation has since improved, but officials believe the Kremlin may plan to attack the grid again soon.
Andrii Kovalenko, a senior official at the National Security and Defence Council, warned that Russia was ready to conduct another "massive" attack and had accumulated a large number of cruise missiles.
After Wednesday's strike, power grid operator Ukrenergo said it would limit electricity supply for businesses due to "significantly" lower power imports and lower generation.
The last time restrictions on power supplies were imposed on both businesses and households was after a big Russian missile and drone attack in late August.
It was unclear whether the new restrictions were linked to the latest attack. Ukraine's largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said the restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the surrounding region and the regions of Odesa, Dnipro and Donetsk.
Despite regular drone attacks, Russia has not struck Kyiv with missiles since Aug. 26 when it launched a massive attack across the country that officials said deployed more than 200 drones and missiles. That attack killed seven people, Ukraine said.