Mali Army Thwarts Attack on Military Training School in Capital.

Mali's army successfully thwarted an attack on a military training camp in the capital city of Bamako. Unidentified assailants targeted multiple locations in the city, leading to an hours-long gun battle before security forces regained control. This attack is unusual for Bamako, which has been relatively spared from the jihadist violence that has plagued Mali since 2012. The country has been under military rule since 2020, and the current leader has struggled to combat militant attacks. This is the first major assault by suspected militants in the capital since 2015. The attack occurred after the withdrawal of European forces, a United Nations peacekeeping mission, and the deployment of mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group. Mali accounted for a significant portion of reported Islamist attacks in the region last year. Al-Qaeda's West Africa affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack, while the army referred to the assailants as terrorists. The airport, schools, and shops remained closed following the attack. [Extracted from the article]