In a new wave of attacks in Mali, the al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has stormed the Kenieroba Central Prison, a modern complex dubbed 'Africa's Alcatraz', located about 60km southwest of the capital Bamako.

The detention center holds 2,500 prisoners, including at least 72 considered 'high value' by the Malian state, among them JNIM fighters and individuals arrested after large-scale attacks last month by the group and Tuareg separatists of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).

The fighters attacked military bases across multiple cities, including areas where senior government officials reside, and took control of the northern city of Kidal in a coordinated offensive on April 25-26, striking at the heart of the country's military government.

One attack killed Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara and his family in their home in Kati. On Monday, military junta leader Assimi Goita assumed the defense portfolio. At least 23 others were killed in the attacks.

Since then, a wave of arrests has targeted former and current military officers, civil society members, lawyers, and political opposition figures, all accused of colluding with al-Qaeda fighters. Opposition figures Mountaga Tall, Youssouf Daba Diawara, and Moussa Djire are among those 'abducted', according to security sources.

The UN Human Rights Office reported 'gravely concerning reports of extrajudicial killings and abductions, allegedly carried out by members of the security forces' following the attacks.

JNIM has called on Malians to rise up against the government and transition to Islamic law. The group has pledged to besiege Bamako and reportedly set up checkpoints around the city of four million on Friday, threatening a humanitarian disaster.

On May 3, the mayor of Diafarabe village in the Mopti region urged authorities to act before people starve, as the village had run out of food.

Source: www.aljazeera.com