GSIM showcases massive weapons cache seized after deadly assault on Mali’s Dioura base
The jihadist group GSIM posted propaganda displaying a large stock of vehicles, firearms and ammunition captured from the Dioura military camp following a recent attack.
In a night-time propaganda release, the Groupe de soutien de l’islam et des musulmans (GSIM) displayed an impressive cache of seized equipment: six Toyota pick-ups, ten motorcycles, more than two hundred Kalashnikov assault rifles, around fifty heavy machine guns, a dozen rocket launchers, several mortars and countless ammunition boxes. The haul was taken after a fierce assault on the Dioura military camp, the most lethal attack by the militants since their major offensive earlier in the year that was coordinated with the Touareg-led Front de libération de l'Azawad (FLA).
The Malian army confirmed the attack and said it carried out retaliatory strikes, but did not disclose its own loss numbers, which the ruling junta typically keeps hidden. Reported casualty estimates range from roughly fifty dead soldiers to the GSIM claim of 150 killed. GSIM also said it captured 93 prisoners, and posted two videos showing about forty of those captives. The propaganda suggests the group is now equipped to launch further operations in the coming weeks.
Why it matters
The seizure of heavy weaponry and large numbers of prisoners could enable GSIM to intensify its insurgency across central Mali.
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