Spokesman for a coalition of Tuareg-majority pro-independence groups said Airstrikes on a

village in northern Mali near the Algerian borde killed 21 civilians, including 11 children, the

attack on the village of Tinzaouatine would mark the largest number of civilians killed by

drones since the breakdown of a peace agreement between the country’s ruling military

junta and armed pro-independence groups in northern Mali last year according to report.

The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad is a coalition of Tuareg-

majority groups fighting for the independence of northern Mali, which they call Azawad. The

strikes on Sunday targeted a pharmacy, then other strikes followed that targeted people

gathering in the vicinity of the initial damage, the coalition said in a statement.

In a statement broadcast on national television, Mali’s armed forces confirmed the strikes.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces confirms airstrikes in the Tinzaouatine sector on the

morning of August 25, 2024. Acknowledging that the precision strikes targeted terrorists.

The strikes come a few weeks after the Malian army and mercenaries from the Russia-

based Wagner Group were defeated by Tuareg rebels and fighters from the Jama’at Nusrat

al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaida linked group.