A military camp in Mali was attacked by forces affiliated with al-Qaeda on Friday, a day after two other attacks killed 49 civilians and 15 soldiers in what is being seen as an expansion of the country’s Islamist insurgency.
According to the United Nations, the number of people in Mali who are affected by the violent attacks and are in need of humanitarian aid has grown by 17% over the last year to more than 8.8 million people.
The attacks come as the UN prepares to withdraw its 17 000-member peacekeeping mission from the country at the government’s request.
[Image: Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay]