The Mali military base attack in the central town of San on Sunday was repelled by government forces, according to Mali’s military. The army says the coordinated jihadist assault left more than fifty attackers dead, making it one of the fiercest clashes to hit the country’s Ségou region this year.
The Mali military base attack began around 5.30am. Fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, known as JNIM, and the Azawad Liberation Front struck the 23rd Infantry Regiment’s compound in San. That account comes from a statement issued by Mali’s General Staff of the Armed Forces and published by pan-African outlet Alwihda Info on Monday.
According to the army, the attackers deployed heavy machine guns, kamikaze drones and two armoured vehicles during the Mali military base attack. One vehicle rammed through the perimeter wall before soldiers mounted what the General Staff called a “vigorous riposte” to push the fighters back.
Initial assessments from the army indicate that more than fifty terrorists were neutralised in the Mali military base attack. Many wounded fighters were reportedly carried away as the assailants retreated. Search and pursuit operations for militants still on the run were continuing in the area on Monday, the statement added.
At least ten Malian soldiers were killed during the fighting, security and local sources told the French news agency AFP. One security source described the camp as having been “temporarily occupied by the attackers” before troops regained control of the site.
A resident of San told AFP that loud explosions and sustained gunfire rang out from the early hours. Calm returned to the town later that morning. The resident, who declined to be named, confirmed it was a terrorist attack and described continuous exchanges of fire during the Mali military base attack.
JNIM claimed responsibility for the Mali military base attack in a statement circulated shortly afterwards, asserting that its fighters had taken full control of the San barracks. Malian authorities rejected that claim outright, insisting the assault had been repelled and the site secured.
Africa Corps, the Russian-linked contingent operating alongside Mali’s army, backed the military’s version of events. It quoted the regimental commander, Colonel El Umrani, as saying around forty assailants had been neutralised. He described the assault as having been “repulsed successfully.”
Sunday’s fighting is the latest in a string of setbacks for Mali’s army. A JNIM and Azawad Liberation Front alliance launched a major offensive in April, during which Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed and the northern town of Kidal fell to insurgents. On 18 July, fifty soldiers were killed when their convoy was ambushed in the north.
Mali has grappled with a jihadist insurgency since 2012. The military-led government, in power since coups in 2020 and 2021, has repeatedly promised to restore security without delivering lasting results. This latest Mali military base attack shows how far that goal remains, with the junta now fighting on multiple fronts across the north and centre of the country.
