Nine military helicopters took part overnight and into this morning in a large-scale air operation searching for Malian soldiers who had fled into the forests surrounding Joura camp after Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) seized it last week, according to local sources who spoke exclusively to Al-Roaa Al-Afriqiya.
The sources said the helicopters began bombarding the camp’s perimeter and the surrounding dense forests around 10 p.m., as drones flew overhead and Africa Corps personnel were airlifted into the site. Bombardment and gunfire continued almost continuously until around 10 a.m., while Africa Corps troops moved on foot through the forests to sweep the area in search of the missing soldiers.
Soldiers Found in Hiding, Evacuated to Bamako
Sweep teams found a group of Malian soldiers who had been hiding since the September 10 attack in a large forest near the camp. A military helicopter immediately flew them to Bamako, and the sources confirmed several arrived in the capital this morning, including two Tuareg soldiers. Africa Corps personnel also recovered the bodies of several soldiers from around the camp and the nearby forests.
The sources described those hours this way: « We had been hearing gunfire and rocket bombardment since last night, and at first we thought they were targeting specific positions, before learning this morning that Africa Corps elements were moving through the forests searching for the fleeing soldiers and the bodies of the dead. »
No significant ground reinforcements reached Joura by road, and no military convoys were observed heading toward the town — the operation relied entirely on helicopters, drones, and air insertion. The situation later calmed down as the bombardment stopped and the helicopters withdrew, while Africa Corps personnel pulled back from the forests into the camp.
Background: The Attack and the Camp’s Fall
The operation comes a week after JNIM, the al-Qaeda-linked group, seized the Malian army camp and a neighboring camp housing allied Dozo fighters at Joura (officially Diora) in a large-scale attack on September 10. The group declared « full control » of the garrison in a statement issued the day of the attack. Local sources said the attackers seized weapons, ammunition, and military vehicles, while a number of soldiers fled into the forests and others were taken prisoner.
The group later released videos of people it said were captured Malian soldiers, and announced a toll of 150 killed and 93 captured from the army. Neither these figures nor the identities of everyone shown in the videos can be independently verified, and the Malian army has yet to issue a detailed toll of the dead, missing, and captured from the battle of Joura.
