GAO, Mali (AP) – At least 33 people were killed and several dozen injured after an explosives-laden vehicle targeted a camp housing armed groups in northern Mali, a local official said Wednesday.
The morning blast hit the Joint Operational Mechanism base in the city of Gao. The base houses hundreds of fighters including members of armed groups that signed Mali’s 2015 peace agreement. The camp also houses Malian soldiers.
The local official called the death toll provisional. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
“I am with the injured now,” Dr. Sadou Maiga at Gao’s hospital told The Associated Press. “We have stopped all hospital activities to handle the many injured who are arriving. Some have died from their wounds, and others are in a very grave state. At this point, it’s not the toll of dead and injured that interests me, it’s saving who I can.”
Witnesses said the car bearing explosives breached the camp at around 9 a.m., just as hundreds of fighters were gathering for a meeting.