*BAMAKO, MALI: *Fifty-three soldiers were killed Friday in a “terroristattack” on a Mali military post in the northeast of the country, thegovernment said.
The assault is one of the deadliest strikes against Mali’s military inrecent militant violence.
A civilian was also killed at the outpost in Indelimane, in the Menakaregion, close to the border with Niger, the country’s communicationminister Yaya Sangare said on Twitter.
“The situation is under control. A search and the process of identifyingthe bodies is continuing,” he added, after giving the latest update on thedeath toll.
He said 10 survivors were found at the outpost, which suffered“significant” damage.
No further details of the attack were given.
The Malian government earlier condemned the “terrorist attack,” saying ithad left numerous dead or wounded but without giving a precise toll.
“Reinforcements have been dispatched to secure the area and hunt down theattackers,” the statement added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault.
It comes a month after two militant assaults killed 40 soldiers near theborder with Burkina Faso, however several sources said the death toll hadbeen downplayed.
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The deadly assault sparked protests outside a military camp in thecountry’s capital Bamako.
Mali’s army has been struggling in the face of a militant revolt that hasspread from the arid north to its centre, an ethnically mixed and volatileregion.
The recent assaults are also a humiliation for the so-called G5 Sahel force– a much-trumpeted initiative under which five countries created a joint5,000-man anti-terror force – and for France, which is committed to shoringup the fragile region.
Northern Mali came under the control of al Qaeda linked militants afterMali’s army failed to quash a rebellion there in 2012.
A French-led military campaign was launched against the militants, pushingthem back a year later.
But the militants have regrouped and widened their hit-and-run raids andlandmine attacks to central and southern Mali.
The violence has also spilt over into Burkina Faso and Niger wheremilitants have exploited existing inter-communal strife, leaving hundredsdead. -APP/AFP
