Islamist militants have attacked the Malian headquarters of a regional anti-terror taskforce, killing six people and leaving many injured, according to a provisional toll.
A suicide bomber tried to penetrate the base at Sévaré in central Mali, according to a security source. A local orange seller, Haoussa Haidara, said “there was a huge blast” followed by exchanges of gunfire. Gunshots could still be heard an hour later.
It is the first attack on the headquarters of the joint G5 force, set up in 2017 to combat jihadist insurgents and criminal groups in the vast, unstable Sahel region of Africa. It came three days before a meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania, between the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the heads of the G5 Sahel states to discuss progress made by the force.