Armed fighters kill at least 30 people in attacks in central Mali

Dozens of people have been killed in attacks reportedly carried out by al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters in central Mali, the deadliest assault since armed groups launched a widespread coordinated assault late last month.

According to local, security and administrative sources speaking to the AFP news agency on Thursday, attacks on the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in the Mopti region killed at least 30 people a day earlier. Three sources – including an aid worker, a diplomat and a security source – separately told the news agency Reuters that the assailants had hit two unnamed localities in Mopti, killing at least 50 on Wednesday.

The latest attacks come a day after armed fighters stormed the Kenieroba Central Prison, a recently built complex about 60km (37 miles) southwest of Bamako, which houses 2,500 prisoners, including at least 72 inmates considered “high value” by the Malian state.

Mali was shaken by a wave of attacks since April 25 and 26, when the al-Qaeda-linked ⁠group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) joined forces with the Tuareg-dominated rebel group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).

On top of the resurgence in violence and the blockade, civilians are caught at the height of the dry season, said Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque.

“It hasn’t rained in months, and there has been conflict over water resources, specifically in the centre of Mali between Fulani villagers and Dogon militia group supported by Malian forces – so this is a flashpoint,” he said.

The April attacks showed how fighters from different groups with different goals could strike at the heart of the West African country’s military government.

‘Still present’ threat

During a news conference in Bamako on Wednesday, Malian army commander Djibrilla Maiga said fighters were attempting to reorganise after the April ⁠attacks, which killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and drove Russian troops aligned with Mali’s leaders from ⁠the strategic northern town of Kidal.

“The threat is still present,” Maiga said, though he added that the military was disrupting their manoeuvres.

JNIM announced last week that it would attempt to impose a blockade on the capital Bamako by setting up checkpoints on the roads leading there.

Maiga said ⁠the fighters were focusing on the roads leading to Kayes and Kita, disrupting travel to western Mali, but that other roads, including to Segou, in central Mali, ⁠were passable. Kita is around 180km (112 miles) from Bamako, while Kayes is ⁠around 580km (360 miles) away.

In the north of Mali, where FLA fighters seized the town of Kidal and the strategic base of Tessalit, the military is repositioning certain units as part of its response, Maiga said, without providing details.