At least 10 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack on an army base in the central town of San, according to a security source who described the toll as provisional. The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known as JNIM, claimed responsibility.
Residents reported hearing loud explosions and sustained exchanges of gunfire early on Sunday. One resident, who was not named for security reasons, said calm later returned. A security source said attackers temporarily occupied the camp.
JNIM asserted in a statement that it had taken full control of the barracks in San, in Mali's Segou region. Mali's military said its troops mounted a forceful response and that the situation was under control. The competing statements agree that the base came under attack but differ in emphasis over control of the site. Neither account supplied an independently verified casualty breakdown for the attackers.
The reported death toll of around 10 soldiers was provisional. Officials had not published the victims' names, a wounded count or a detailed timeline of how the base was retaken. Information from an active conflict zone can change as units complete their accounting.
Mali has faced conflict since 2012 involving organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, local criminal groups and Tuareg independence movements. The country has been under military rule since coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta took power promising to restore security, but attacks have continued.
Fighting intensified after a large offensive launched in late April by JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg separatist organization. That campaign resulted in the death of Mali's defence minister and the capture of the strategically important northern town of Kidal, according to the supplied report.
On July 18, at least 50 soldiers were killed when an army convoy was attacked in northern Mali by JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front. The San assault therefore followed another major loss for government forces within less than a month. The two events occurred in different parts of the country and the report did not describe them as one operation.
The immediate picture in San remained limited. Security and local sources supported a provisional toll of about 10 soldiers, JNIM publicly claimed the attack, and the military said it had restored control. The number of wounded, militant casualties and the extent of damage to the base were not disclosed. Those gaps prevent a complete battlefield assessment even though the attack and deaths were reported by multiple local accounts. Residents said calm returned after the early-morning explosions and sustained gunfire.
