Airstrike in northern Mali kills eight civilians

Harry Archie June 30, 2026

An airstrike targeted a vehicle travelling near Mali’s border with Niger, killing eight civilians, local and security sources said on Tuesday.

The victims were on their way to a weekly fair in Inkadewane, around 50 kilometres (32 miles) from the region’s main town Menaka, when they were hit on Friday, a local source said.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the strike, but recent weeks have seen increased operations by the Malian army and Russian Africa Corps auxiliaries.

“All of the passengers, including teenagers, were killed instantly,” the source said.

A local lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said those killed included an official in charge of a vaccination programme at the regional Intadeyni health centre.

“It’s an absolute tragedy,” said the lawmaker, citing Menaka’s “huge health needs”.

The Mali military and its Russian allies have intensified operations following large-scale attacks in late April by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM group and its Tuareg separatist allies, in which Mali’s defence minister was killed.

The ruling junta has put in place a slew of security measures, including banning the use of motorcycles more powerful than 125 cc outside major cities, motorbikes being the preferred mode of transport for jihadist fighters.

“Travelling in pickups and on motorcycles has become a major risk for civilians in these areas, even more so since the events of April 25,” a security source told AFP, adding that the population “now fears moving outside the main cities to get supplies”.

On Monday, Africa Corps, the Moscow-controlled paramilitary group, posted a video on its Facebook page claiming to have used a drone to destroy a pickup depicted as belonging to “terrorists” it said was “transporting weapons” in the Tidermene area.

Also Monday, Human Rights Watch accused JNIM jihadists, their Tuareg rebel allies, the Malian army and the Africa Corps of all having committed serious abuses against civilians in the wake of April’s attacks on the Malian junta.

AFP