14 Malian soldiers killed in attack on army camp

BAMAKO (AFP) — Fourteen soldiers were killed and 18 were wounded last Saturday in an attack on their camp in Mali’s restive north, the army said, while military sources told AFP jihadists were responsible.

Mali’s deteriorating security situation is of growing concern as Al-Qaeda-linked groups mount increasingly deadly attacks on domestic and foreign forces.

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita cancelled last Saturday his visit to an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“The Malian armed forces were attacked early this morning, around 4 a.m., in Soumpi (Timbuktu region). We have recorded 14 dead, 18 wounded and material damage,” a statement from the military posted on social media said.

The army retook the camp by the afternoon, a Malian military source reached there told AFP.

“The Malian army is back in control of the camp. Two terrorists have been killed,” the source said, adding other attackers were being “pursued.”

A military source based in Bamako had told AFP the soldiers were killed “during a cowardly terrorist attack on the Soumpi camp.”

The Soumpi incident comes two days after 26 civilians, including mothers and babies, were killed when their vehicle ran over a landmine in Boni, central Mali, according to a United Nations death toll.