Attack in Mali kills at least five people

An attack at a checkpoint in southeast Mali has killed at least five people, including customs officers and civilians, local and military sources said.

While a military source told AFP news agency a "terrorist attack" had killed seven civilians and customs officers at the Koutiala checkpoint, a local councillor put the death toll at five.

Neither source provided the breakdown of the civilian and customs officers involved.

"The enemies also suffered losses," the military source said, adding the situation was currently under control.

At the time of the attack, the Malian army was conducting an operation in the Koutiala area, near the border with Burkina Faso.

READ MORE: Bomb attack kills two UN peacekeepers in Mali

Fighting against terrorism

Since 2012, Mali has been rocked by an insurgency led by groups linked to Al Qaeda and the so-called Daesh terror groups.

The violence began in the north, then later spread to the centre and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. 

Inter-communal and criminal violence is also common.

The country has been run by a military junta since August 2020, when colonels angered at failures to roll back the militants toppled the country's elected leader, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

They then staged a second de-facto coup in May 2021, but reiterated a vow to hand back control by February 2022. That timeline was recently pushed back by two years.

READ MORE: Mali military rulers set two-year delay until civilian rule