On March 19, dozens of Malian soldiers were killed at a military base in Tarkint in an attack perpetrated by the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).

2020 Tarkint attack
Part of Mali War
DateMarch 19, 2020
Location
Result JNIM victory
Belligerents
Mali Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
Strength
Unknown Several dozen[1]
Casualties and losses
29 killed
5 wounded[2]
Unknown

Attack

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On the morning of March 19, 2020, several dozen JNIM militants raided the base, arriving from three directions and overwhelming the Malian troops stationed there.[3][4] It was not immediately known which group caused the attack, but on March 21 JNIM claimed responsibility.[5]

Casualties and aftermath

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Initially, the Malian army reported two dead and ten wounded, but these numbers soon rose to 29 soldiers killed and five wounded.[6] An anonymous Malian military official claimed the death toll was closer to 30.[3] The bodies were taken to Bourem.[3]

There is little information regarding casualties of JNIM. In the statement claiming responsibility, the group claimed to have destroyed or captured stocks of weaponry from the base, corroborated by photos.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Mali: Attaque meurtrière contre les forces armées à Tarkint". 19 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Terrorist assault on Malian military base leaves dozens of dead". 24 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Une "trentaine" de soldats tués au Mali dans une attaque attribuée aux djihadistes". Le Temps (in French). 2020-03-20. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  4. ^ a b "JNIM kills dozens in Mali base attack | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. ^ "Dozens of Mali soldiers killed in deadliest 2020 attack". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  6. ^ "Mali: attaque meurtrière contre les forces armées à Tarkint". RFI (in French). 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2023-02-08.