At least 64 people, 49 civilians and 15 soldiers, were killed yesterday Thursday in two “terrorist” attacks, claimed by an organization belonging to the Al-Qaeda network, targeting a passenger ship and an army base in northern Mali, where the transitional government dominated by army officers has declared three days of national mourning from today.

The two separate attacks targeted a ship traveling on the Niger River and an “army post” in Baba, in the Gao district (north), with the still “provisional” death toll released by authorities saying “49 civilians and 15 military dead”, according to an announcement by the transitional government, which does not specify exactly how many died on the ship and how many at the base, however it states that the responsibility was “claimed” by an organization close to Al Qaeda.

According to the statement, read out on state television, there are also many injured.

Always according to the transitional government, about 50 of the perpetrators of the attacks were also killed.

Mali has faced a deep security crisis since 2012 due to guerrilla warfare by groups that pledge allegiance to either al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, which the Tuareg separatist insurgency in the north has morphed into.

The jihadist activity gradually spread to the central part of the country and neighboring Sahel states, Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of people were killed and millions forced from their homes.

After the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on 18 August 2020, the military junta demanded the departure of the French military Barchan, which has been operating in the country since 2012, and then the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) by the end of the current year.

The military regime, which keeps repeating that its main goal is to restore the country’s national sovereignty and independence, has ended its alliance with France and its Western partners to counter jihadist organizations and turned to Russia for military and political support.