Malian Army Inflicts 'Heavy Casualties' on Unknown Militants Attacking Northern Village

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Malian security forces have neutralised several unidentified gunmen raiding a village in the country's north, not far from the border with Burkina Faso, the army has said.

"The #FAMa [Malian Armed Forces] inflicted heavy casualties on unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles. These terrorists had made an incursion, in the morning of Sunday, December 27, 2020, at around 10:00 a.m. [10:00 GMT], in the village of #Kerekara," the military tweeted late on Sunday.

The unknown militants attacked the locality not far from the town of Koro and carried away cattle. However, the military retrieved the abducted animals and took them to the Koro town.

A total of six perpetrators were neutralised by the army, which also seized their weapons. No casualties occurred among the security forces.

The incident comes a day after the army reported it had eliminated ten jihadists in the same region last Thursday, as the latter assaulted a military convoy.

The Islamist insurgency in the West African nation has been rocking the country's north since 2012, initiated as a separatist uprising.

The Malian authorities have been struggling to obtain full control over territories taken by jihadist militant groups ever since.