The transitional military government in Mali reported several attacks carried out by Islamist groups.

Militant Islamist groups attacked a riverboat in northeastern Mali, writes the BBC. At least 49 people must have been killed. The BBC cited sources in the country’s transitional government.

Islamists were also said to have attacked a military camp and killed 15 soldiers. 50 Islamist militants are also said to have been killed here.

The government has declared three days of national mourning following the attack.

The Russian mercenary group Wagner has had a military presence in Mali in recent years. There is uncertain information regarding the group’s current status in Mali.

France had a military presence in the former colony from 2013 to 2022.

Mali is one of several West African countries fighting an Islamist insurgency linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS that began in 2012. Over the years, Islamist groups have increasingly gained a foothold, despite international efforts to bolster the power of Sahel countries. That’s what NTB wrote.

Additionally, there have been eight military coups in West and Central Africa in the last three years, two of them in Mali and two in neighboring Burkina Faso. The transitional military government in Mali has ended security cooperation with France and the UN.

On 31 August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the Norwegian embassy in Mali would be closed due to the security situation in the country and in connection with the termination of the UN MINUSMA operation at the end of this year.

Norway is one of the countries that has participated in UN operations.