Mali’s security crisis has worsened as armed groups keep carrying out attacks across the country, including in central areas. A double attack in two villages killed several people, Mali’s military governor said, while the militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin posted a claim of responsibility.

Authorities said the attacks took place on Wednesday around 4 p.m. in the villages of Kori Kori and Gomossogou, according to Col. Maj. Olivier Diassana. Diassana called the attack “cowardly” and “barbaric,” and his statement said several people were killed and several others were injured, without offering an exact casualty count.

In its own statement posted online, JNIM said it carried out the attacks and that the targets were pro-government militias it said were fighting alongside the Malian military. The report did not include additional detail from the authorities beyond the governor’s description of the timing and locations.

The attacks follow a surge of violence that has intensified since last month, when JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, launched what the report described as the biggest assault on the government since 2012. The FLA has been seeking to secede from the northern region of Mali, and both groups have contributed to the pressure on the government.

Mali has been ruled by a military junta that took power in a 2020 coup, promising to restore security amid a rise in extremist attacks. Since the coup, the junta has turned to Russia as its security partner, a shift that forced France and a U.N. peacekeeping mission to leave, according to the report.

The violence has also included earlier attacks in April that led to the seizure of key cities from government troops and the Russia-backed Africa Corps. The latest attacks were part of the same broader pattern, as JNIM has also enforced a partial blockade on Bamako, the capital.

In the months since the alliance of JNIM and FLA began its latest offensive push, Mali’s authorities have continued to report expanding armed activity and growing challenges to the government’s security posture.