Sunday’s attack was blamed on jihadist groups and claimed to have killed at least four soldiers, two civilians, and five assailants. It took place in Tessit, where a military camp is situated, according to the Malian army.
The Malian army could suffer a much higher death toll. According to relatives of the victims, the two civilians are local officials. The Tessit sector is located on Malian’s side of the tri border area. It is a vast rural region that is not under the control of the state and is often the site of clashes.
Armed groups affiliated with al-Qa’ida, under the umbrella of the Groupe de soutien à l’Islam et aux musulmans (GSIM, JNIM in Arabic), are fighting the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) group, affiliated with the EI organisation. The jihadists seek to take control of this strategic, gold-rich region.
This area has been home to the Malian army, which is based in a military camp near Tessit. It has also been attacked many times in this area. This area is sometimes known as the “Malian Gourma” and includes peacekeepers from UN Mission in Mali, as well as soldiers from Operation Barkhane.
As elsewhere in Mali, civilians are caught in the crossfire of conflicting actors and accused of being allied to one while they are not the other. The residents of the area fled in their thousands to Gao, which is 150 km away.
The Tessit area, like the entire three-border zone, becomes even more isolated during heavy rains, when it is impossible to travel.
Since 2012, Mali has been in turmoil. The jihadist spread started in the north but has now spread to the center and southern Mali as well to Niger and Burkina Faso.
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