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Mali has arrested soldiers suspected of involvement in last week’s coordinated attacks by jihadi and separatist fighters.
In a statement late Friday, a judicial official said “the first arrests have been successfully carried out, and all other perpetrators, co-perpetrators, and accomplices are actively being sought”.
The official did not specify how many suspects had been identified and who specifically had been taken into custody, but noted that the list of potential accomplices includes three active duty soldiers, a retired soldier and a soldier who had been “dismissed” and was killed in fighting near the country’s main army base in Kati, 15km outside the capital Bamako.
The public prosecutor at the military court of Bamako said there was “solid evidence regarding the complicity of certain military personnel” in the attacks.
According to the statement read on state television, the officers helped in “the planning, coordination, and execution” of the attacks.
It added that Oumar Mariko, a prominent politician in exile, was also involved in the plot. Mariko has historically denied collaborating with jihadists.
The attacks which began on the morning of April 25 was carried out by the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), a separatist group pushing for the establishment of a separate Tuareg state, and the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda branch in Mali.
Sadio Camara, Mali’s defence minister, and three members of his family, were killed after a vehicle-borne explosive detonated outside his residence in Kati.
Assimi Goita, interim president, and other junta leaders were also said to have been targeted in the attacks but were whisked away to safety
