A major jihadist assault on a Malian military camp last week killed at least 50 soldiers and five Russian Africa Corps paramilitaries, making it one of the deadliest single attacks on the Malian armed forces since an Islamist insurgency erupted in the country's north more than a decade ago. The attack targeted the Dioura military camp, located in the central Mopti region — a vast, ethnically diverse area that has been a recurring flashpoint in Mali's long-running security crisis — and took place on Thursday, with jihadist fighters reportedly returning to the site the following day.

The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its French acronym JNIM, swiftly claimed responsibility, announcing