Mali’s military rulers were battling a spiralling security crisis on Sunday after a weekend of coordinated nationwide attacks killed the defence minister and left a key northern town in rebel hands.
General Sadio Camara, the West African nation’s defence minister and a key figure in the junta, died on Saturday when a car bomb struck his home in Kati, a military stronghold just outside the capital Bamako.
His second wife and two of his grandchildren also lost their lives in the blast, family sources confirmed.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the government said Camara had died of his wounds in hospital after “neutralising some of his attackers.” It added that he would receive a national funeral.
The attacks, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted multiple areas across the vast, arid country — including Bamako, Kati, Gao, Kidal, and Sevare.
Analysts described the offensive as the most serious challenge to Mali’s rulers since the March 2012 insurgency, which was only repelled with the intervention of French forces who have since withdrawn from the region.
There has been no public sighting or statement from junta leader General Assimi Goita since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday, though a Malian security source told AFP he was in a safe location.
In the north, Tuareg rebels told AFP they had reached an agreement allowing Russian Africa Corps forces — who back Mali’s army — to withdraw from the strategic city of Kidal. The rebels claimed Kidal was now “totally” under their control. Mali’s army had recaptured the Tuareg stronghold in November 2023 with the help of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of rebel control.
“We saw a military convoy leave,” a Kidal resident said. “Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets.”
Fighting continued on Sunday in several areas, including Kati, Gao, and Sevare, where a local official described the situation as “confused.” Gunfire could still be heard in the central town.
In Bamako, troops had blocked access to military facilities with barriers and tyres on the roads. The international airport, just outside the capital, resumed operations on Sunday after heavy fighting Saturday in the outlying Senou district. “I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It’s traumatising,” one Bamako resident said.
The opposition Coalition of Forces for the Republic (CFR) warned in a statement that Mali was “in danger,” accusing the junta of failing to deliver on its promise of security and stability.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “acts of violence” and called for “coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel.” The European Union also condemned the “terrorist attacks” on Sunday.
Mali’s junta, which seized power in 2020, has severed ties with former colonial ruler France and drawn closer to Russia. The Russian Africa Corps — an organisation under direct control of Moscow’s defence ministry — has since taken over from the Wagner mercenary group in helping Malian forces fight jihadist insurgents.
As of Sunday evening, there was no official confirmation of the full extent of casualties or territorial losses, but the coordinated assault has exposed deep vulnerabilities in the junta’s grip on power.
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