BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Double attacks by an armed group have left several people in two villages dead in central Mali, authorities said in a statement Thursday.

The attacks, which have been claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), followed last month’s heavy assaults on the government by the group and a Tuareg separatist group, the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA. The FLA has been seeking to secede from the northern region of the West African nation.

Mali has been ruled by a military junta that took power in a 2020 coup, promising to restore security amid a surge of extremist attacks. Since seizing the country, the junta turned to Russia as its new security partner, forcing traditional allies like France and a U.N. peacekeeping mission to leave.

The previous attacks in April led to the seizure of key cities from government troops and the Russia-backed Africa Corps.

The latest attacks occurred on Wednesday around 4 p.m., according to the military governor, Col. Maj. Olivier Diassana, in the villages of Kori Kori and Gomossogou. He called the attack “cowardly” and “barbaric.”

The governor’s statement did not provide an exact figure of casualties, but also stated that several people were injured.

JNIM, in a statement posted on its website, claimed it was targeting pro-government militias fighting alongside the Malian military.

Mali’s security crisis has worsened since last month, when the alliance of JNIM and FLA launched what has been called the biggest attack on the government since 2012. Several people were killed last month, including the former defense minister, Sadio Camara, who was a key figure in the junta.

JNIM has also enforced a partial blockade on the capital city of Bamako.