Clashes in Mali: government troops eliminate 26 terrorists

Malian armed forces took control of the situation after a series of morning terrorist attacks in several cities across the country. In the course of repelling coordinated attacks by Tuareg rebels in Sevare and Gao, 26 militants were eliminated; the army continues clearing operations with the support of aviation.

Malian armed forces successfully repelled a series of coordinated terrorist attacks carried out early Saturday morning in several regions of the country and fully brought the situation under their control.

This was officially stated by the Malian defense ministry. According to the ministry of defense, government troops decisively halted all militant incursions. In clashes in the city of Sevare, 20 terrorists were eliminated, and in Gao six attackers were killed. On the government side in Gao, one pro-government fighter was killed and four others were wounded. Malian army units are currently conducting clearance operations in the combat zones, employing ground forces and military aviation.

The rebel attacks began early in the morning and covered five different locations, including a strategically important city in northern Mali where government troops are stationed and a settlement south of the state capital Bamako. According to the text of the official statement, strikes were carried out against fortified army positions in the northern cities of Anefis, Agelkhok and Gao, Sevare in the central part of the country, and Kenioroba in the south. Responsibility for organizing and carrying out the Saturday attacks was officially claimed by the rebel group "Front for the Liberation of Azawad," led by ethnic Tuaregs, a representative of the group said.