Malian Drone Strikes Continue to Target Civilians, Tuaregs Proving Elusive

A drone strike conducted today in Zarho, Timbuktu, Mali, has resulted in the deaths of seven civilians, including the driver of a goods transport vehicle, his two assistants, and a mother, father, child, and one other person. The strikes follow a series of Turkish-made TB2 Bayraktar strikes conducted on the commune of Tinzaouaten, near the Algerian border, in late August, which killed 21 civilians, including 11 children.

What You Need to Know

Although targeting civilian infrastructure is not an uncommon tactic employed by the Malian junta, strikes have increased in the aftermath of the battle of Tinzaouaten, which left an estimated 80 Russian mercenaries and 50 Malian military personnel dead.

According to local sources, a truck carrying fuel barrels was hit, as well as a Toyota pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction. Tuareg separatist sources are yet to release a statement on the strike.

Last week, the Alliance of Sahel States—a confederation encompassing Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—convened to create the outlines of a military operations 'action plan' as well as a communications strategy, aimed at clearly defining military objectives to be achieved in both operations and communications, the FAMA press service stated.

Despite being created in September of last year, the Alliance has yet to announce an in-depth counter-terrorism strategy as terrorism continues to spread across the 'tri-border zone' connecting Mali to Niger and Burkina Faso.

Furthermore, a blanket blackout over much of the three nations' media landscapes has made it as difficult to get pure information out of the countries as it is to get pure information into them. The control over the media landscape has additionally enabled the Alliance's juntas to deny or misrepresent civilian and military losses in the fight against terrorism, allowing them to cushion their regimes from potential backlash resulting from poor military strategy.