APA – Bamako (Mali) – These incidents occur a few days after a skirmish in Bourem, in the Gao region of Mali between soldiers and armed insurgents.
The town of Lere, 200 km south-west of Timbuktu, close to the Mauritanian border, was the scene of violent clashes on Sunday 17 September between Malian soldiers and rebels.
Although no figures are yet available, the rebels claim to have “taken control of the town,” while the army merely reported the attack.
The rebels, who claim to control the town, even broadcast images of the clashes with the army.
The footage even showed soldiers being taken prisoner.
There was also images of a ball of fire which rebel fighters described as a fighter plane that was shot down.
For its part, true to its line from the start of the skirmishes, the army stopped short of acknowledging that the rebels were the opposition and instead referred to “armed terrorist groups” (GAT).
After reporting the attack in Lere on its Facebook page, the army indicated that it had retaliated, while calling on “the population to remain calm and avoid any movement near the area.”
On Tuesday 12 September the army was able to regain control of Bourem, in the Gao region, a few hours after losing it to the rebels, who later broadcast images of a man presented as a captured Malian army officer.
MD/ac/fss/as/APA