In Mali, one year after the attack on the passenger boat ” Timbuktu » which occurred on September 7, 2023, the perpetrators have still not been arrested. On the same day, a military camp was also attacked in Bamba in the Gao region. According to the official report, the attack caused the death of 64 people, including 49 civilians. Claimed by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims, this attack created public outrage and a strong wave of support.
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All weekend at Malithe images of the boat ” Timbuktu » in flames have been making the rounds on social networks accompanied by messages of tribute to the victims. Fatoumata Harber, a Malian web activist, is always very moved when recalling the memory of this day of September 7, 2023 : ” Having taken this boat from my childhood until now, I know that it was full of women and children, vulnerable people and really when children, women, maybe people who don’t even know how to swim, find themselves the target of gunfire, it really hurts. “.
According to independent sources, hundreds of people were killed by mortar fire and the burning of the ship. Many others are still missing. More than 500 people were on board.
During the winter, the boats of the Malian shipping company have been full to bursting for decades. Before the attack and due to insecurity, the Niger River was considered a safe route between the cities of northern and southern Mali. Because during this period of flooding, the tracks are flooded and difficult to use. The boats are also a link between the populations of the different regions of the country.
Solidarity in response to tragedy
A few hours after the tragedy was announced, Fatoumata Harber had launched a kitty with the support of other activists and associations such as Solidaris223 to help people in distress and provide basic necessities. Others had organized blood donation campaigns. The wounded were evacuated to the hospital in Gao, while the survivors ended up in the locality of Gourma Rharous in the region of Timbuktu. They were in total destitution, no clothes, sometimes nothing on their backs, no shoes. It is to these first needs that we tried to respond, and thank God, we were able ” she says.
Despite the assistance and generosity of the population, more than 200 survivors remained stranded for several days in the town of Rharous because they could not be evacuated under escort by road. It took them more than ten days to be reunited with their families, and they are still awaiting trial.
Pending the outcome of the investigation
The day after the attack, the prosecutor of Mali’s anti-terrorism unit announced the opening of a judicial investigation, the conclusions of which have not yet been released. The authorities have declared three days of national mourning and the transitional president Assimi Goita has promised to release a sum of 250,000 CFA francs per survivor.
According to our information, this aid has not reached several of them. But in a press release published this Saturday, September 7 to commemorate the first anniversary of this massacre, the Malian shipping company expressed its gratitude to the president who declared wards of the nation, the beneficiaries of the people who died during the attack.
Hassatou Ba Minté, Africa director of the International Federation for Human Rights, talks to RFI about these aspects.
So far, we have not seen any official information from the Malian authorities on the progress of the investigations.
Hassatou Ba Minté, Africa Director of the International Federation for Human Rights, looks back on this first anniversary of the attack on the boat Tombouctou
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