Four Mali Police Officers were killed and three wounded on Sunday after being ambushed in Western Mali, a region prone to Jihadi attacks, the paramilitary police said. According to the police, the gendarmerie was attacked during an operation in Kouala.
Two police vehicles were burned down and two others, topped with machine guns, were captured by the attackers. Two assailants were killed and others were taken as prisoners.
The police did not specify in its message to whom the attack was attributed, however, the Police, troops and Malian state targets are regularly hit by Jihadi groups.
Since 2012, Mali has suffered from the spread of jihadism and a deep multidimensional, political, economic and humanitarian crisis. The violence has mainly affected the centre and the eastern sections of the country and has also spread to neighbouring countries Burkina Faso, Niger, and Senegal.
Thousands have died, hundreds of thousands have fled their homes and devastating economic damage has been inflicted on one of the world’s poorest countries.
Since August 2020, Mali has been ruled by the military, leading to a bust-up with France, the country’s traditional ally, and closer ties with Russia.
The military junta claims to have forced jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaida and the Islamic State out of the country and gained control of the country.
Last week, Malian Prime Minister Choguel Maiga said that there was no longer any part of the territory where the army could not go.
However, the Prime Minister’s assessment has been contradicted by experts who say that two-thirds of the territory is outside the state’s control.
A recent UN report said that the security conditions have continued to deteriorate in Mali.
