The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace expressed “fraternal solidarity and deep condolences following the coordinated terror attacks that took place in several regions of Mali on April 25th and 26th, and the continued loss of innocent life in Central Mali this month.”
“Be assured of our spiritual closeness with the bishops and faithful of your country as well as our prayers for the many communities mourning the death of military personnel and civilians, and caring for those wounded by these acts of violence,” Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, the Maronite bishop of Los Angeles, wrote in a May 19 letter to Bishop Hassa Florent Koné of San, the president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Mali.
The West African nation of 22.6 million (map) is 87.5% Muslim and 3.5% Christian, with 9% adhering to ethnic religions. The Mali War began in 2012; it pits Mali’s government against various Islamist groups.