Malian army neutralises 'several terrorists'
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The Malian army has neutralised several terrorists in Zouera, in the Goundam circle, in the Timbuktu region, in the north-west, and in Niaba, in the Douentza region in the centre, according to a press release issued by the Armed Forces Information and Public Relations Directorate (DIRPA) on Tuesday.
According to the Armed Forces General Staff, this is the result of reprisals launched by the Army following rocket fire that targeted Timbuktu on 18 March which caused no loss of life or significant material damage.
"The General Staff of the Armed Forces informs the national public that on Monday, 18 March 2024 at 4.55pm, three rockets were fired at the Timbuktu airport area without causing any damage," it said.
The DIRPA said that the terrorists and their accomplices were neutralised and a major logistical cache, used as both a fuel depot and a fleet of vehicles to support terrorist activities, was destroyed in Zouera, 90 km west of Timbuktu.
Also on Monday, an Army patrol on offensive reconnaissance destroyed a terrorist base in the Niaba forest in the Douentza region.
A number of terrorists were neutralised and significant war materiel recovered.
These rocket attacks come a few days after shells were fired at the airport area in the northern city of Gao.
According to the DIRPA, all these "desperate actions by the obscurantists" came against the tenacity of the Malian Army, who received support from the Burkinabe Armed Forces as part of Operation Kapidgou on 16 March at Danderesso in the Sikasso region of southern Mali, on the Mali-Burkina Faso border.
-0- PANA GT/IS/BBA/MA 20March2024