IED event in Gao, Bourem area, Mali on Tue 12th September 2023

Some 10 Malian soldiers were killed and 46 "terrorists" neutralized, including 3 responsible in a complex attack with booby-trapped vehicles, carried out Tuesday by several terrorists in the town of Bourem in the north of Mali, said Colonel Souleymane Dembélé, director of Information and Public Relations of the Armed Forces (Dirpa) in a press release.

This attack was claimed by the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) which claimed to have taken over the town of Bourem located in the Gao region.

By way of a press release, the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) declared that “as part of the conduct of self-defense operations in the face of provocations by terrorists from the Malian army, accompanied of the Wagner militia, the CSP-PSD initiated (...) an action today Tuesday September 12, 2023 in the barracks town of Bourem region of Gao”.

And to add that “this operation resulted in the takeover of the camp and the various advanced posts of the FAMas and Wagner”.

“This Tuesday, around 9:20 a.m., the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) repelled a complex attack with terrorist vehicles aboard several vehicles and motorcycles in the locality of Bourem,” said Colonel Dembélé, adding that the precision of intelligence made it possible to combine aeroterrorist actions and foiled this attack.

The same source underlines that the terrorists who escaped in disarray in their flight withdrew towards the north in the sectors of Agmor and Almousstrat, abandoning several of their companions before affirming that the search was in progress and the situation under control.

Furthermore, Colonel Dembélé also indicated that the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) targeted terrorist vehicles this Tuesday around 7:30 a.m. northeast of Bourem in the preparation phase for attacks against the forces and civilians in the sector. A series of strikes also targeted a second column in the direction of Bourem and a group of vehicles.

“The provisional cumulative toll shows 10 dead and 13 injured on the FAMA side. 46 terrorists neutralized identified including 3 responsible in Bourem and surrounding areas, more than 20 pick-ups destroyed including those equipped with weapons,” announces the same source.

The document notes that the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, after having prayed for the rest of the souls of the missing and presented his most saddened condolences to the comrades in arms and the families, renews his confidence and his support to the Malian Armed Forces, who spare no effort to restore peace and security.

Ambushes and attacks with improvised explosive devices are recurrent, particularly in northern and central Mali.

Mali had fallen into insecurity since 2012 and, despite the deployment of regional and international forces, the situation has not stabilized.