Jihadist Attack Targets Moroccan Trucks Near Mali-Mauritania Border

About thirty Moroccan trucks escaped death on Monday, January 6. A terrorist attack occurred in Nioro du Sahel, near the Mauritanian border, in southern Mali as they were trying to cross the border into Mauritania. The armed men who launched the attack on the city opened fire on the Moroccan trucks lined up on the border road. The Moroccan drivers had to flee to different areas. Subsequently, the Malian army regained control of the area. The Moroccan truckers then returned to the scene.

In a statement, "the general staff of the armed forces informs" the public that the Malian army "vigorously repelled a terrorist attack in the Nioro du Sahel region on January 6, 2024 around 10:00 pm". And to specify: "the terrorists who infiltrated the city in large numbers with internal complicity attacked certain sensitive points". The Malian army claims to have killed 30 jihadists and recovered weapons. One Malian soldier is said to have died.

There were no casualties or injuries among the Moroccan drivers. But "about 30 Moroccan trucks operating in international transport in West Africa were damaged," says the national secretary of the General Union of International and National Transport Professionals to Hespress, noting that the terrorist attack "has revived the suffering of drivers in the face of the security situation in West Africa". He then calls on the Moroccan diplomatic authorities to "ensure the protection of Moroccan drivers in West Africa, particularly at the border post between Mali and Mauritania, by communicating with their Malian counterparts".