Mali: jihadis step up attacks on Tuaregs
The Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) announced Feb. 11 that they have abducted a team of Red Cross workers in Mali who had been reported missing days earlier—the latest in a wave of new attacks by the jihadist militia. (Al Jazeera, Feb. 11) MUJAO was also blamed for a Feb. 7 attack that left least 30 Tuaregs dead at Tamkoutat, 80 kilometers north of the desert city of Gao. A young girl and a woman were among those killed in the road ambush. Initial reports had attributed the killings to a cycle of reprisals in ethnic violence between the Peul (Fulani) and Tuareg in the area. Authorities later said the attackers were actually MUJAO militants. (Reuters, Feb. 9; AFP, Feb. 7)
The attacks come just as France is reducing the number of its troops in Mali to 1,000 from 2,500, with President Francois Hollande saying on Jan. 8 the intervention’s objectives "have been largely achieved." (Bloomberg, Feb. 12)
Recent Updates
14 hours 42 min ago
14 hours 45 min ago
15 hours 50 min ago
18 hours 17 min ago
2 days 17 hours ago
2 days 17 hours ago
3 days 17 hours ago
3 days 17 hours ago
4 days 2 hours ago
4 days 14 hours ago