Mali says army convoy ambushed in northern Gao region

Mali’s army said it was fighting back after armed groups attacked a military convoy in the northern Gao region on Saturday. The attack underscored the pressure on Malian forces in the north, where separatist fighters and an al-Qaeda-linked group have challenged the state for territory.

The Malian military said in a statement that a convoy was hit in a remote area of Gao. It did not give casualty figures, but said its “partners” were also targeted, a reference Al Jazeera reported was likely to Russian paramilitaries or mercenaries operating with Malian forces.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, and the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, both said they carried out the attack, according to Al Jazeera, AFP and AP. In separate statements, the groups claimed the Malian army suffered heavy human and material losses.

A military source in Gao told AFP the convoy had left Anefis for Gao and was attacked near Tabankort. The source said fighting was continuing after the ambush.

Rebel claims and reported footage

AFP reported that images released by the FLA purported to show dozens of Malian soldiers taken prisoner during the attack. The rebels also distributed footage they said showed soldiers surrendering, according to the report.

Al Jazeera reported that in the video, rebel fighters appear to shoot at some soldiers as they lie on the ground. The Malian army has not publicly confirmed the number of soldiers killed, wounded or captured in the ambush.

The convoy was travelling from Anefis, a northern town the Malian army said it retook on July 10. According to the army, about 30 Malian soldiers were killed and about 60 were wounded in that operation.

Anefis had been seized six days earlier by the FLA and JNIM, Al Jazeera reported. The FLA said it lost some of its strongest fighters during the army’s push to retake the town.

Conflict in northern Mali

Mali has faced a security crisis for more than 14 years, according to Al Jazeera. The violence has been concentrated in part in the country’s north, where armed separatists and groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL have fought state forces and their allies.

The FLA wants an independent state in northern Mali, according to Al Jazeera. JNIM, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, is described by Al Jazeera as the deadliest armed group of its kind in West Africa and controls stretches of rural territory while seeking to expand.

The conflict has also deepened Mali’s humanitarian emergency. Al Jazeera reported that more than five million people, nearly 20 percent of the population, need assistance as fighting continues across parts of the country.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.