TIMBUKTU, Mali
The two separate attacks targeted the Timbuktu boat on the Niger river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region with "a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed", according to a government statement.
It did not specify how many
died in each assault, but the assaults were "claimed" by a group
affiliated to Al-Qaeda.
Earlier the Malian army
said on social media that the boat was attacked around 1100 GMT by "armed
terrorist groups".
The vessel, plying an
established route between cities along the river, was targeted by "at
least three rockets" which aimed at its engines, the operator Comanav said
separately.
The vessel was immobilised on
the river and the army are evacuating passengers, a Comanav official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
Images on social media showed
a cloud of black smoke rising above the river. The incident took place in a
remote area and the images could not be verified independently.
The Niger is a vital transport
link in a region where road infrastructure is poor and railways absent.
The attack comes after an
al-Qaeda-linked alliance, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM),
announced last month that it was blockading Timbuktu,
the historic crossroads city of northern Mali.
The impoverished state has
been struggling with insecurity since 2012, when a revolt led by ethnic Tuaregs erupted
in the troubled north.
The insurgency was
fanned by jihadists, who three years later took their own campaign into
central Mali, Niger and Burkina
Faso, sending shockwaves across the Sahel.
In northern Mali, the regional
rebellion was formally ended by a peace agreement signed between the rebels and
the Malian government in 2015.
However, the fragile deal came
under strain after the civilian government was toppled in 2020 and replaced by
a junta.
Tensions in the region have
revived in recent weeks after the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has
been told to leave by year's end, handed over two bases near
Timbuktu to the armed forces.
The handover triggered clashes
between the army and the jihadists and
led to an angry showdown with the former rebels, stoking fears for the 2015
peace agreement.
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