At least 50 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack by Tuareg separatists and jihadists as they left the strategic northern town of Anefis, officials said on Sunday.
The attack on the army convoy leaving Anefis occurred on Saturday, following weeks of fighting with both sides attempting to take control.
In early July, fighters from the Tuareg separatist FLA and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) briefly captured the town and encircled a military base used the Malian army and Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps.
JNIM and the FLA claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The provisional toll of the attack is extremely heavy — more than 50 soldiers killed and at least 24 prisoners,” a local elected official, close to the ruling junta, told AFP.
