Questions remain over security in Mali a day after 'ambitious' attack

By Tiemoko Diallo, Portia Crowe and David Lewis

BAMAKO (Reuters) -Mali's security situation remained unclear on Wednesday after insurgents attacked an elite police training academy and other strategic areas on Tuesday, killing trainees, overrunning part of the airport and setting the presidential jet alight.

Analysts and diplomats described the attack as a major blow to the junta and regional bloc ECOWAS and the European Union issued statements condemning it.

Mali has not confirmed the death toll, but said on state television on Tuesday evening that there had been "some" deaths.

A video that circulated online showed sleeping quarters with around two dozen bunk beds in tight formation that had been torched. Several charred bodies can be seen, some under the beds. Reuters has not authenticated the videos.

Flights resumed on Wednesday morning to Bamako's main airport, where much of the violence - claimed by Al Qaeda affiliate Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) - took place a day earlier.

The al Qaeda-linked group said in another statement on Wednesday that "hundreds of enemy soldiers were killed and wounded" in the attack that also saw the destruction of six military aircrafts including a drone, while four others were partially disabled.

The attack came on the 64th anniversary of the founding of Mali's gendarmerie, and came days after junta leader Assimi Goita had said his army had "considerably weakened armed terrorist groups", in a speech marking the anniversary of Mali's decision together with junta-led neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to form a security and political alliance.

The timing of the attack was likely symbolic, "and also indicates that the attack and specific target was likely planned in advance,", the United Nations said in a note to staff on Wednesday, describing the incident as a "strong show of force" by JNIM.

Mali's army and Wagner mercenaries it has employed experienced a major battlefield defeat in July, suffering heavy losses at the hands of Tuareg rebels in the northern outpost of Tinzawaten.

"In my personal opinion, this is seriously impacting their credibility on the security front", a diplomat in Bamako told Reuters.

"We'll see how the population reacts to these events. Either they will support the regime against the jihadists or start wondering if they have the right protection they deserve."

At least one man was set alight by a mob in Bamako on Tuesday, suspected of being involved in the attack, Reuters witnessed. The UN cited other reports of reprisals.

AMBITION

On Tuesday, videos posted to JNIM's social media accounts showed armed men shooting into a VIP terminal at the airport and setting fire to a government-owned Boeing 737 plane on the tarmac.

Other footage showed an armed man in camouflage firing shots near a WFP turbo-prop plane.

Reuters confirmed the location of the videos from the road layout and paint not he tarmac that matched satellite imagery.

"This attack is also way more ambitious than the previous attacks back in the second half of the 2010s. It directly targets military objectives in Bamako," said Jean Herve Jezequel, Sahel Project Director at International Crisis Group.

"It seems the jihadists demonstrated capacity to hold the airport for some time, possibly multiple hours, which is a huge blow."

Wagner's base is located at the airport, as well as some Malian drones and war planes.

"Even if it does not ruin all the Malian army's efforts to redeploy these last few years, it is a serious blow that stresses the absolute need for serious adjustments in the Malian counter insurgency strategy," Jezequel said.

(Additional reporting by Fadimata Kontao, Reade Levinson and Cooper Inveen; Editing by Christina Fincher)