Mali Drone Strikes Kill at Least 10 Civilians at Wedding

Mali’s army drone strikes killed at least 10 civilians as they prepared for a wedding in the central region of San, marking the latest escalation in violence since armed groups launched a widespread coordinated assault late last month.

The strikes on Sunday came amid a security crisis following attacks last month on military government positions by fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).

A resident of the Tene locality, where the strikes occurred, told AFP that “10 of our children” were killed. “What was supposed to be a moment of joy in the village turned into immense sorrow,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A security source who requested anonymity for safety reasons told AFP: “The tragedy occurred as the villagers were preparing the second edition of this traditional collective wedding, a major cultural event for this community.”

The strikes targeted “a procession of motorbikes following one another,” he added. “That is certainly what drew the attention of the drones.”

A local official also confirmed to AFP that about 10 people had been killed. “A wedding was about to take place when the drones killed at least 10 civilians. It is truly a time of mourning,” he told AFP.

Mali has been in a critical security situation since JNIM teamed up with FLA rebels in April. A deadly offensive on April 25 and 26 targeted strategic towns and killed the country’s influential defense minister.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who has reported extensively from Mali, said according to military sources that “the fighters involved in this coordinated attack are targeting military armed compounds,” adding that “there is an unprecedented level of panic” in the military ranks.

Alex Vines, Africa director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that Malian authorities appear to have been caught off guard by the latest wave of attacks.

Kidal and other towns and villages in the north have been captured and are now controlled by the FLA and JNIM, which have since imposed a blockade on the capital, Bamako.

Another wave of attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters was reported on May 7, killing at least 30 people in central Mali. The villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in the Mopti region were targeted.

Mali, rich in gold and other valuable minerals, has faced unrest since 2012. Its security crisis has deepened with the involvement of the FLA, JNIM and the Africa Corps, a Russian government-controlled paramilitary that replaced the private Wagner Group.

Haque told Al Jazeera he learned from witnesses that Russian mercenaries were “fighting in Bamako, around the airport, where they have one of their headquarters.”

Mali’s former colonial ruler, France, and the United Nations had deployed soldiers and peacekeepers to control violence by armed groups, but Bamako expelled their forces after military coups in 2020 and 2021 and is now using Russian fighters instead.