Mali initiates judicial probe into gendarmerie school terror attack

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - The military in Mali initiated a judicial probe Thursday into a terror attack on a gendarmerie school in the nation’s capital of Bamako.

The attack “likely constitutes acts of terrorism, financing of terrorism and complicity in acts of terrorism,” Public Prosecutor Amadou Bocar Toure said in a statement released on state television.

The administration in the West African nation foiled a terror attack early Tuesday on the Faladie Gendarmerie School, a training unit for security personnel in Bamako, according to officials.

Authorities are yet to confirm any casualties.

“An investigation was opened to shed light on these facts, to identify and to arrest the alleged perpetrators, co-perpetrators and accomplices so that they can answer for their actions before the courts,” said Toure.

The attack has triggered condemnation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation blocs, as well as Senegal and the EU diplomatic mission in Bamako. The US said it "supports Mali's determination for stability and peace."