APA-Bamako (Mali) The chief aide to Mali’s junta leader and his retinue have been killed in Tuesday’s ambush on their convoy in the Nara area, located in the northwest of the country, near the Mauritanian border.
The eight-member team, led by the chief of staff of the President of the Transition, was in the area for a field visit in preparation for the upcoming construction of a water well to relieve the population.
Sources indicate that there was no particular military escort to secure the delegation as its members were ambushed by insurgents suspected of belonging to one of the components of the ‘Groupe de Soutien à l’Islam et aux Musulmans’ (GSIM), the Katiba Macina, which is very active in that part of Mali.
The attackers used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and firearms to target the presidential convoy.
The attack left at least four members of the delegation dead, including the chief of staff of the president of
the transition, warrant officer Oumar Traore, known as Douglas.
The latter remained one of Colonel Assimi Goita’s loyal lieutenants, with whom he served as a member of the special force based in the center of the country prior to the August 2020 coup that toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, known as IBK.
The three other members of the delegation who died in the attack were Staff sergeant Mohamed Sangare,
a security officer, Mr. Alassane Diallo, a driver at the office of the management of the presidential car fleet, and Mr. Moussa Toure, a contractor and drilling operator.
Sources say that two of the four bodies were rotting when they were found, while the other two were burned. In addition, there is still no news of another member of the delegation, notably Moussa Keita, a driver at the office of fleet management of the Presidency.
In a press release issued Wednesday, April 19, the General Staff of the Armed Forces reported an attack on a drilling company by armed men on the Guire-Nara road around 5:00 p.m. the previous day. The army headquarters added that “the prompt reaction of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMAs) made it possible to recover a mission vehicle with two survivors. Another vehicle was found burned by the assailants, with a death toll of four,” without further details. But a note from Koulouba issued on Thursday, April 20, confirmed the death of President Goita’s top aide and three members of his delegation in the ambush, and announced that their funerals would be held the same day in Kati.
This is one of the most serious attacks witnessed in the Nara area, which has been rife with intense jihadist activity for some time.
This raid occurred despite a major military maneuver called “Operation Maliko” that is taking place there, mobilising significant army resources. This situation is proof that the country’s security situation remains very worrying and that insecurity spares no area, let alone people – civilian and military.
This also puts at risk the electoral process that is supposed to be completed with the presidential elections in February and March 2024.
To date, no elections have been held, although several are scheduled for this year.
MD/ac/fss/as/APA