Over 20 dead after Suspected Islamists Strike Central Mali

Violence isn't close to being a thing of the past in Mali.

Suspected Islamist militants killed 25 people including 13 soldiers in multiple attacks in central Mali over the past few days.

Malian military officers said fighters targeted and burned down an army base near the Burkina Faso Border, before ambushing troops sent as reinforcements.

According to the UN, asymetrical attacks against armed forces these past six months have caused 175 deaths.  According to authorities, 13 terrorist were neutralised. Twelve civilians also lost their lives, in circumsances that remain for now obscur.

The deadly attacks come just days after scores of jailed militants were freed by the interim government in a key prisoner swap. The exact number of prisonners released, amongst which several notorious jihadi leaders, hasn't been confirmed by malian authorities, but could be close to 200. If a transitional government has been appointed since the August 18th military coup, many fear Mali could be further destabilised by violence in the central and northern regions.

Since 2015, central Mali has been the home to violence after the arrival of jihadi fighters, that benefited from ethnic tensions in the regions to recruit militants.