Malian Prime Minister Moussa Mara warned on Sunday the country was “at war” with terrorists in the northern city of Kidal, after clashes between separatist militants and the army left dozens dead.
Eight soldiers and 28 insurgents were killed in fighting on Saturday outside the regional governor’s offices during Mara’s visit to the desert town, the Malian government said, adding that about 30 civil servants were being held hostage.
“The terrorists have declared war on Mali, so Mali is at war against these terrorists. We will mobilize the resources to fight this war,” Mara told reporters by telephone.
Photo: AFP
Albert Koenders, the special representative and head of the UN’s peacekeeping force in Mali — MINUSMA — “condemns in the firmest manner” the killings, the force said.
The US called for restraint and the “immediate” release of the hostages.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages, and urge all parties to refrain from violence and from any acts that place civilians at risk,” US Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The Economic Community Of West African States, a regional group of 16 countries, also condemned the violence and the “serious deterioration of the political and security situation.”
The Malian government has blamed the clashes on Tuareg separatists, but Mara said militant groups had taken advantage of the crisis to infiltrate Kidal on Saturday night “to participate in the chaos alongside other terrorist groups.”
On his return to Bamako, Mara said late on Sunday that Malian authorities were trying hard to have the hostages released. Without giving details he said some of them had been “killed in cold blood,” while others were freed as they had been wounded.
Kidal, 1,500km northeast of the Malian capital, Bamako, was the scene of anti-government protests by several hundred people on Friday and Saturday.
Mara’s predecessor, Oumar Tatam Ly, was forced to cancel a trip in November last year to Kidal, the stronghold of the Malian Tuareg separatist movement, after protesters occupied a runway at the airport.
“When someone attacks the republic, he is a terrorist, whatever his origin or allegiance to a territory. We will take a war without mercy to these terrorists,” said Mara, who was on his first tour of the north since his appointment last month.
He visited the desert caravan town of Timbuktu on Friday, Kidal on Saturday and was due to spend two days in Gao, northern Mali’s largest city, but cut the final leg short to return to Bamako a day early for urgent talks with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Mara said after the talks that the Kidal governor’s offices had been attacked by “jihadists, terrorists ... with the clear aim to destroy and kill.”
Malian troops “reacted accordingly. Today Malian armed forces are in Kidal, [they] are readying themselves for any contingencies,” he said.
The Malian president was expected to raise the Kidal crisis in a televised address to the nation yesterday.
Security for the tour had been provided by the MINUSMA and soldiers from Operation Serval, the French-led military mission against militants in northern Mali.
It was not immediately clear if the French troops were involved in events in Kidal over the weekend, but MINUSMA said two of its troops had serious gunshot wounds and 21 of its police were injured.
“We urge restraint and refraining from violence which may endanger the civilian population,” the force said in a statement. We encourage dialogue as soon as possible to ensure the safety of Kidal. For a lasting solution to the problems of the north, there is no alternative to a peaceful solution.”
Malian Minister of Defense Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga announced reinforcements in Kidal, identifying the rebels as members of the Tuareg separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) “supported by members of terrorist groups.”
“Our forces have taken control of all government buildings except, for the moment, the governor’s offices,” he said in confirming the toll, vowing to rapidly boost forces in Kidal.
The MNLA said it was holding hostage the regional director of Kidal, a prefect, the governor’s adviser and 24 soldiers, but the group promised “humane treatment” toward its captives.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese