At least 50 Malian soldiers and five members of Russia’s Africa Corps were killed in an attack on the Dioura army base in central Mali last Thursday, security and local sources told AFP on Monday. The figure has not been independently verified, and accounts from people contacted by the news agency put the toll higher.
The base is in the Mopti region. The al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known as JNIM, claimed the assault and said it had taken control of the barracks. Sources speaking to AFP also said that dozens of Malian soldiers were taken prisoner. One security source estimated more than 60 soldiers had died, while a local official put the number at at least 80; neither estimate has been confirmed.
Mali’s army acknowledged the attack and said it had launched air and ground operations against the attackers. In a statement issued on Sunday, the military said it had struck militants on motorcycles southwest of Dioura. It did not provide a confirmed casualty figure for its own forces in the account reported by AFP.
The new casualty estimates follow several days of uncertainty about the scale of the 10 September attack. The African Press Agency reported the assault on the day it occurred and said JNIM claimed to have seized the position. The group has mounted repeated attacks on Malian forces as the country’s long-running security crisis continues.
Mali’s military-led government has relied increasingly on Russian security support since turning away from France. The reported deaths of Africa Corps personnel show that the latest attack may also have struck that partnership. The immediate status of all missing and captured personnel remains unclear.
Sources: Africanews/AFP, 14 September 2026; APAnews, 10 September 2026.