Mali's Armed Forces Repel Attack By Terrorists In Central Macina Cercle District

Mali's Armed Forces Repel Attack by Terrorists in Central Macina Cercle District

Terrorist militants ambushed an army base located in Mali's central Macina Cercle area, fleeing the scene as clashes ensued and leaving behind a large improvised explosive device, the Malian armed forces (FAMa) said on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th February, 2021) Terrorist militants ambushed an army base located in Mali's central Macina Cercle area, fleeing the scene as clashes ensued and leaving behind a large improvised explosive device, the Malian armed forces (FAMa) said on Saturday.

"Overnight from February 26 to 27, around 2:10 a.m. [2:10 GMT], the #FAMa from the security post of #Saye [village] in #Macina Cercle reacted strongly to an attack by armed terrorist groups," the army said on Twitter.

As an "intense fighting" followed, the terrorist militants fled the scene, leaving behind an improvised explosive device consisting of two 5-liter [169 oz] cans filled with explosives," a follow-up tweet read.

Mali has been plunged into a security crisis since 2012, when a separatist uprising in the country's north grew into a full-scale terrorist threat, spreading to the central regions of the Western African nation. Jihadist groups attack the Malian army and the forces of its allies from the G5 Sahel bloc, as well as European troops, on a regular basis.