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Dioura, in the Mopti region and one of central Mali’s most important military positions, came under a devastating assault in the early hours of 10 September. The camp normally housed several hundred soldiers, roughly a battalion. Fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) breached the base after intense clashes and claimed to have seized it before withdrawing hours later.
Two Malian defence ministry insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity, put the preliminary death toll at more than 80 soldiers. That figure could still climb. A number of troops remain unaccounted for, and others were taken prisoner.
Footage released by JNIM shows fighters walking through Dioura after the raid. Bodies of soldiers lie on the ground, some buildings are on fire, and stocks of motorcycles have been set alight. The images confirm that the jihadists entered the camp, but they do not by themselves establish the full scale of the human losses.
Army command silent on its own casualties
The Malian military has confirmed the attack on Dioura. In an official statement, the general staff said it launched “air and ground operations against the assailants” and claimed to have neutralised “several dozen terrorists.” Motorcycles and pickup trucks were also destroyed. However, the army has released no figures for its own dead, wounded, missing or captured soldiers. Russian mercenaries from Africa Corps, who fight alongside Malian forces in several parts of the country, are not positioned at Dioura.
A base already struck by JNIM
Dioura has paid a heavy price before. In May 2025, JNIM killed around 40 soldiers during an offensive against the same camp. The latest attack again illustrates the group’s ability to concentrate fighters against large military positions, temporarily overrun them, and then withdraw. The assault adds to a series of recent JNIM-claimed operations. The group also announced an ambush against a convoy of the Malian army and Africa Corps near Sikasso. In Sofara, another attack killed at least eleven people among Russian soldiers and dozo hunters.
