BAMAKO, Aug 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Many civilians have fled the town of Farabougou in central Mali following a jihadist attack this week on a military camp, local and military sources told AFP on Saturday.

Soldiers also evacuated the town's military installation, which was attacked by jihadists on Tuesday, the sources said.

For more than a decade, Mali has faced violence from fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as from separatist movements and criminal gangs.

No information was immediately available on the toll of the Farabougou attack.

"Civilians are fleeing the town and surrounding villages," a local official told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

"Several hundred people continue to flee. The jihadists control the town. They even held Friday prayers in Farabougou," the person added.

A military source confirmed that the army was no longer in the town on Saturday.

"We are not in Farabougou today but this is a strategic decision. We are preparing to return," they said.

A local official said that the town had emptied out after the attack.

The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), linked to Al-Qaeda, claimed to have carried out the attack in Farabougou, as well as in the southwestern town of Kassela, some 60 kilometres from the capital Bamako.

Since seizing power, Mali's military government has turned its back on France, arguing that the country should be free of its former colonial ruler.

It has since forged ties with Russia, and mercenaries from the paramilitary Wagner group and its successor Africa Corps are now helping the Malian army fight jihadists and other internal adversaries.