The official statement did not say who was responsible for the attack, which occurred around 80 km from the capital, Bamako, in an area in southwestern Mali that has been relatively untouched by the Islamist insurgency ravaging central and northern regions.

Two members of the civil defense force and three civilians were killed in the attack, it said, without elaborating.

Mali has become rife with insurgents, many of which can operate openly in the rural areas where government forces are thin, despite their augmentation with Russian mercenary Wagner Group fighters.