The first, nicknamed the city of the 333 saints, has great significance for Malians because it was the intellectual and spiritual capital of Islam in Africa during the 15th and 16th centuries and is still home to several madrasas (schools for the study of the Koran, the sacred book of Muslims) and the prestigious University of Sankore, considered the first university in the world. The military command report assures that after the withdrawal of the assailants, an undetermined number of whom were “neutralized”, “weapons and drugs” were confiscated, without specifying type, caliber and quantity.

During the clean-up operation that followed the fighting, the military “located two other vehicles belonging to suspected terrorists in the same area of the attacks, which were neutralized,” the text, which was widely circulated in the news media, states.

Led by a transitional military government, Mali spearheaded a wave of suspension of agreements and military bases with France, the former colonial metropolis, and the United States, joined by Burkina Faso and Niger.

The three states last year created the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defence agreement to jointly confront any military aggression.

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