Northern Mali Airstrikes Leave 21 Civilians Dead, Including 11 Children, in Escalation of Conflict

On Sunday, a number of airstrikes on the village of Tinzaouatine, in northern Mali bordering Algeria, killed 21 civilians, including 11 children. The airstrikes hit a pharmacy before reaching the nearby civilians. This was confirmed by Mali’s armed forces, who claimed the operation was to neutralize terrorists in the region.

The coalition groups of the Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad, made up largely of Tuaregs who are seeking independence for northern Mali’s Azawad, reported the strikes and accused the Malian military of targeting civilians. A spokesman, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, described the attack as one that led to what he termed, heavy casualties and serious material damage, too with very many others wounded in the wake of the bombing.

Tiny Tinzaouatine is at the very heart of the swirling conflict between Mali’s ruling military junta and pro-independence groups after the breakdown of a peace deal last year. The strikes were the deadliest for civilians since the renewed conflict.

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Malian forces, said to be operating along with the backing of Russian mercenaries affiliated with the Wagner group, have also grown more reliant upon aerial bombardments as a result of their lack of a sufficient troop presence in the region. Some analysts have forewarned that such military losses are certain to result in more civilian casualties, as was just experienced elsewhere at the hands of Tuareg rebels and fighters of the al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group.

All this has been a source of international concern, given the ever-growing humanitarian crisis in northern Mali with each ticking second. As the suffering of the civilians persists, the need for new efforts to reintroduce peace again is more and more urgent.