IED event in Mopti, Dansan area, Mali on Wed 1st September 2021

Two Malian soldiers were killed on Wednesday and six injured in the explosion of an artisanal mine as their vehicle passed by, in central Mali, we learned from a security source. A pick-up vehicle of the Malian armed forces jumped on “the improvised explosive device” at the entrance to the village of Dansan, on the Boni-Douenzta axis, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The vehicle was carrying soldiers to provide relief in the area, according to the same source. It is on the same Douenzta-Boni road that 15 Malian soldiers were killed and many wounded on August 19, during an ambush attributed to the jihadists. Homemade explosive devices are a weapon of choice for jihadists against Malian, French and international forces. They also kill many civilians. Since 2012 and the outbreak of independence and jihadist rebellions in the North, Mali has been plunged into a multifaceted turmoil that has left thousands dead, civilians and combatants, despite the support of the international community and the intervention of forces from the UN, African and French.