The chief of staff of the interim president in Mali, Oumar Traore, has died in an attack near the Mauritanian border. A total of four people were killed in the incident two days ago, the presidency said today. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
An official delegation, including Traore, chief of staff to junta chief Assimi Goita, was ambushed about 400 kilometers north of the capital, Bamako. Attacks by jihadist rebels are more frequent in the area.
The delegation had traveled to the area near the city of Nara and the Wagadou cross-border forest area to scout for possible drilling sites for wells for the local population.
For years, Mali has been the scene of a rebellion by Islamist extremists that began in the north of the country in 2012 and later spread to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso. The country is now ruled by a military junta under General Goita, which is striving for closer ties to Russia and making it more difficult for international troops to be deployed.
