Eurasia Press & News
Suspected radical Islamic militants fired a series of mortar bombs early Monday on the northern Malian town of Gao, residents said, marking the first such attack in months after the French-led military operation drove the jihadists from power.
At least five mortar bombs hit the town around 6:30 a.m., said Hubert de Quievrecourt, a spokesman for the French-led Operation Serval. A Malian soldier was seriously wounded in the violence, and six other people suffered injuries, residents said.
Quievrecourt declined to speculate on who may have been responsible, though suspicion fell on the remnants of the Al-Qaeda-linked group that controlled Gao until late January.
MUJAO, or the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in and around Gao since its ouster. The area, though, has been relatively calm since late March when a dozen fighters entered the city and clashes left four civilians dead.
A Malian soldier was severely wounded in the attack and remained in a coma after suffering shrapnel wounds to his head, said Dr. Dounake Diarra, the head of Gao’s hospital.
Six other people suffered injuries from the attack, said local journalist Malik Alousseine.
“We know that the radical Islamic militants are not far and we know that they are not giving up,” he said. “”We are really worried especially with legislative elections coming up.”
Resident Amadou Fall said Monday that people were fearful of renewed violence and angry that militants had been able to once again attack even with the presence of Malian and French forces on the ground.
