MOPTI REGION — Coordinated attacks on the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in Mali's Mopti region killed at least 50 people on Wednesday around 4 p.m., according to an aid worker, a diplomat, and a security source. Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, claimed responsibility for the assaults.

Initial counts placed the death toll at at least 30. Col. Maj. Olivier Diassana, the military governor, described the incidents as double attacks by an armed group on the two villages in central Mali.

In its statement, JNIM said it was targeting pro-government militias fighting alongside the Malian military.

The village assaults followed an attack a day earlier on Kenieroba Central Prison, located about 60 kilometers southwest of Bamako. The facility houses 2,500 prisoners, including at least 72 considered high value by the Malian state.

JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front, which is seeking to secede from northern Mali, launched a coordinated assault on the Malian government last month. In April, attacks led to the seizure of key cities from government troops and the Russia-backed Africa Corps. JNIM has announced it would attempt to impose a blockade on Bamako by setting up checkpoints on roads leading to the capital.

Malian army commander Djibrilla Maiga said fighters were attempting to reorganize after the April attacks. Assimi Goita, head of the military government, said on state television, "The situation in Mali is under control." Malian forces have neutralized several hundred fighters since the April 25 attacks.

Maiga said the threat remained present but that the military was disrupting fighters' maneuvers. He said fighters were focusing on roads to Kayes and Kita, disrupting travel to western Mali, while roads to Segou in central Mali remained passable.