An attack on a truck in northeast Mali killed more than fifty persons, according to reports

Residents and a local official reported that armed attackers attacked their caravan and its army escort on Friday, killing around 50 people close to Gao in northern Mali.

In an area where Al Qaeda and Islamic State cells have been active for more than ten years, destabilizing Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, the terrorists attacked close to the town of Kobe, around thirty kilometers (19 miles) from Gao.

“People fled by jumping out of cars. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns, the local official stated on Saturday that several people had been killed and injured.

According to the official, up to 56 dead were reported at the Gao hospital, and the number of military casualties was also unclear.

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Malian army.

According to a Gao local, almost fifty people were slain and cars were set on fire. According to the homeowner, deadly attacks have increased to the point that the military arranges bodyguards almost every day.

Following a Tuareg separatist uprising in 2012, the insurgencies spread throughout the parched north of Mali. Since then, the Islamist terrorists have extended to neighboring nations in the poor central Sahel area, which is located south of the Sahara.

According to the International Organization for Migration, the assaults have resulted in thousands of deaths and a humanitarian disaster, with over 3.2 million people displaced as of January.