Mali Closes Fulani Cattle Markets Over Suspected Links To Bamako Terror Attack

Authorities in Mali have closed several Fulani-run cattle markets following a suspected links of terror attack in Bamako.

This was disclosed on Thursday after the Al-Qaeda-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the terror attacks that hit a military training school and airport on the outskirts of Bamako on Tuesday, September 17.

Malian officials also revealed that government forces suffered losses in the terror attack, but released no official death toll.

Most livestock markets are run by the Fulani people, also known as the Peuhl, who are perceived to be disproportionately represented in the ranks of Islamist militants in Mali.

Mali, a landlocked West African nation in the Sahel region, has waged a counter-insurgency campaign against Islamist terrorists since 2012.

This began immediately after the 2011 NATO-led military destabilisation of Libya, which led to an influx of Libyan military weapons pouring into Mali via Algeria and Niger.

Since the ouster of former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Mali’s transitional government has claimed significant progress in its war on terror, including the recent neutralization of 2 targeted terror groups in the Mourdiah sector.

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About The Author

Mayowa Durosinmi

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Mayowa Durosinmi is a Nigerian investigative reporter for West Africa Weekly with reports focusing on politics, human rights, security and health in West Africa and the Sahel region.

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