According to military and security officials, 11 troops and four civilians were killed in strikes on Sunday in Mali and Burkina Faso, two neighbouring West African nations grappling with deadly Islamist insurgencies.
The military stated in a statement that suicide bombers drove automobiles laden with explosives into three military installations in central Mali before morning. At the Sevare camp, six people were murdered, 15 were injured, and five more were injured in two other sites.
Armed gunmen assaulted a military unit in Gaskinde, northern Burkina Faso, in the early hours of the morning, murdering five troops and four civilians, according to two security sources.
In the previous two years, military juntas have seized power in Mali and Burkina Faso, vowing to offer more security than their democratically elected predecessors.
However, violent attacks continue. In their efforts to weed out Islamist extremists from remote desert areas, both nations' security services have been accused of abusing civilians. find out more
Mali's troubles began in 2012 when Islamists grabbed control of the north. They were beaten back by French soldiers, but they regrouped and began attacking closer to the capital, Bamako, in the south.
Within a few years, al Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated militants had swept across Burkina Faso and Niger, inflicting devastation. Thousands have perished, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
The junta that deposed Mali's government in a military coup in 2020 requested the assistance of private fighters from Russia's Wagner Group, which has been accused of human rights violations in other countries and has been sanctioned by the European Union.
Mali and Russia have previously said that they are not mercenaries, but rather trainers assisting local forces with Russian-supplied weaponry.
Russian government officials deny any links to the Wagner Group.