Days after the West African country’s ruling military was ambushed by Islamist rebels, it has sought to hide the true extent of the carnage.

Although the attack was attributed to Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the al-Qaeda affiliated coalition of armed groups that is Mali’s largest jihadist force, it did not substantially weaken the junta’s self-confidence and capacity to set the domestic political and diplomatic agenda.

The main Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group in Mali struck a forceful blow to the ruling junta when it hit highly sensitive military targets in the capital Bamako, underscoring its two-pronged strategy of territorial expansion and harassment,

The West African country’s armed forces said the assault, on a school for military police, was carried out by terrorists.

Since the conflict in Mali erupted, violence has spread to neighbours in the Sahel region and reached the north of coastal countries. Thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the region, and some fighters are allied with Al Qaeda or Islamic State.

Attacks Tuesday in Bamako were the first of their kind in years and dealt a forceful blow to the ruling junta, experts said

Over 70 people were killed and 200 were injured in Tuesday’s jihadist attack on a gendarmerie school and military airport in Bamako, the capital of Mali, according to AFP, citing military sources. The junta ruling the country since 2021,