Two firefighters and three civilians were killed at the Marka-Coungo fire department roadside rescue station, more than 50 kilometers east of Bamako.The Malian capital is still in the crosshairs of the jihadists of the ‘Groupe de Soutien à l’Islam et aux Musulmans’ (GSIM). On Monday, January 2, the region of Koulikoro (center) was the scene of a security incident. Armed men attacked the fire department’s roadside rescue station in Marka-Coungo, 50 kilometers east of the capital of Bamako, killing several people. According to the press release from the Directorate of Civil Protection, “five people were killed, including two members of the Civil Protection and three civilians, as well as one injured.”

For the moment, the attack has not been claimed, but it could bear the imprint of the ‘Groupe de Soutien à l’Islam et aux Musulmans’ (GSIM). Last July, the Sahelian affiliate of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) carried out an assault on Mali’s largest garrison, Camp Soundiata Keita in Kati, less than 20 kilometers from Bamako.

The attack was described as “audacious” because it targeted the heart of power in Bamako, which has been held by colonels since May 2021. The General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces (EMAG) identified Macina Katiba as the leader of the attack, which did not result in any casualties among Malian soldiers. Islamist insurgents linked to AQIM claimed responsibility for the raid, which they described in a communiqué issued by their media outlet “Az Zallaqa” as a response to operations by the Malian army and its ally, the private military company Wagner, in central Mali.

Since then, no large-scale attacks have targeted Malian defense and security forces. This lull could be explained by the fratricidal war between jihadist groups in the north. Other security sources also point to “the multiplication of aerial interventions” by the army. Towards the end of last year, Mali acquired Turkish armed drones of the Bakraytar TB2 type, which is very popular in several Sahelian countries.