At least 132 dead in the center of Mali, this is the official report of the attack carried out this weekend in several villages of the commune of Diallassagou, region of Bandiagara. Bamako declared three days of national mourning and called for the communion of hearts and minds in the face of this ordeal… A call for national unity heard of course by all the political actors, but which does not prevent certain questions about the military strategy of the authorities.
All the political formations which have already reacted, whatever their side, bow before the memory of the victims and call for national cohesion, for unity. But this new carnage also raises questions about Bamako’s military strategy. Questions raised mainly by opposition parties. The Framework, which brings together these opposition parties, points out ” the resurgence of tensions and the resurgence of attacks in different parts of the territory. The Codem, a member of this Framework, even asks the authorities to ” put an end to all fleeting triumphalism. An allusion to the official discourse of the transitional authorities who, for months, have been praising the ” rise of the Malian army “, them ” liberated villages “by the” valiant Fama “, in the face of terrorists” more and more feverish », « in disarray », and whose attacks are described as « desperate attempts. »
The “impressive” record of the Malian army
However, the Malian army has considerably increased its anti-terrorist operations since last January, mainly in the Center, and with very impressive results (jihadists killed, equipment recovered). But many residents of the areas concerned and security sources doubt the reliability of these reports. Human rights organizations also claim that among the army’s casualties there are in fact huge numbers of civilians.
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The most emblematic case is the operation carried out in Moura, at the end of March, with 203 people killed in the village, all presented as terrorists. A Minusma report also pointed out, with supporting figures, the exponential increase in civilian victims of the Malian army three weeks ago, which had aroused the anger of the transitional authorities who had estimated that it it was an attempt to tarnish the image of the national army.
Two weights, two measures
The Diallassagou carnage is not an isolated case. If the war against terrorism is not won in a few months, Diallassagou highlights the general deterioration of the security context. Smaller terrorist attacks are almost daily against the armed forces and against civilians. And for more than three months, the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group has been massively attacking civilians in northeastern Mali: we are talking, according to estimates, of 300 to 500 dead in the Ménaka region. Several political parties, and many community leaders or armed groups in the North, have also noted with astonishment that a national mourning had been decreed after the massacre of Diallassagou, in the Center, while on the Menaka killings the silence of the authorities is total.
No national mourning, not even a press release: a double standard which questions, at the very least, the authorities’ vision of the country’s security priorities and the very vision they may have of the different parts of the territory.