Mali bans military uniform among civilians after late April bloody attack

The Malian army has urged the population to stop wearing military uniforms that it argues are causing confusion and mistaking terrorists for soldiers, few days after a bloody terrorist attack.

The army in a statement said any civilian caught wearing the uniform without being a soldier could be charged for contributing to confusion and blurring the distinction between combatants and civilians. The decision follows the April 22 attack at Sévaré airport, in which the army lost 10 men. The attack also caused injuries to 62 civilians.

Authorities blamed the attack on terrorists, 32 of whom were killed. “The lessons of this attempt as well as those of other previous attacks, in Mali as elsewhere, during which the assailants use perfidy to deceive the vigilance of legitimate forces in order to commit barbaric acts against peaceful populations, without any consideration for the most elementary rules of International Humanitarian Law,” the army’s statement said.

The military indicated that it will on May 15 launch a campaign to seize any equipment or uniforms.