On January 26, 2020, jihadists from the al-Qaeda linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) attacked a Malian military base at Sokolo, killing over 20 Malian soldiers.
At around 5 am, around a hundred JNIM fighters stormed the camp at Sokolo, which was being held by about eighty Malian soldiers.[1][2] JNIM attacked from the north, south, and east, causing many of the stationed soldiers to flee into the town of Sokolo.[3][4] Fighting ended around 7 am, at which point the jihadists began to destroy nearly everything in the base.[1][2] The fighters retreated after burning the base to the ground, and around this time Malian reinforcements from Diabaly arrived.[5][3]
The Malian government stated on the evening of January 26 that 20 Malian soldiers were killed and five wounded.[6] The government also claimed four jihadists were killed in the attack, although JNIM only alleges three were killed.[7][8] In a statement, JNIM claimed to have captured 3 Malian soldiers, which could not be independently verified.[6] In the following days, it was reported that the captain at the military base, Harouna Sangare, was killed during the fighting.[9] 60 of the Malian troops, mainly those who fled, survived the attack.[10]
The UN reported that 53 civilians were killed by Malian troops in Sokolo around January 27, sparking a rise in extrajudicial killings by the Malian army.[11]
Mali
Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin
