Troop toll from Mali jihadist clash rises to 14 dead

Fourteen Malian soldiers were killed in a clash with jihadists this week, the army said Thursday, giving a new toll.

Fighting erupted when an army unit was hit by roadside bombs between the towns of Mopti and Segou in central Mali.

In a statement to AFP on Thursday, the army said 14 soldiers died and 11 were wounded, while 31 “terrorists” were killed.

On Wednesday, army and police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 12 soldiers had died.

Mali is in the throes of a nearly 11-year-old security crisis triggered by a regional revolt in the north that developed into a full-blown jihadist insurgency.

Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, while discontent within the military at the mounting toll fuelled a coup in August 2020.

The insurgency spread to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015 and has been followed by sporadic attacks on countries to the south, along the Gulf of Guinea.