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Mali hit by wave of coordinated attacks from armed groups
Black smoke rises above Bamako near the Africa Tower on April 26, 2026, a day after coordinated attacks by Tuareg FLA rebels and JNIM militants struck multiple areas across Mali. uncredited/AFP via Getty Images. hide caption toggle caption uncredited/AFP via Getty Images. LAGOS, Nigeria—In Mali, West Africa, armed groups including Islamist militants launched one of the largest coordinated attacks seen in recent years, targeting multiple cities across the country early Saturday. Heavy gunfire and explosions were reported from early morning around government buildings and major military installations, signaling a highly organized offensive. As of Sunday, fighting is still ongoing. The attacks affected the capital, Bamako, as well as at least three other locations. In Bamako, sustained gunfire and explosions were heard near the main airport, forcing the cancellation of incoming and outgoing flights. Similar incidents were reported in Sevare, Kidal, and the northern city of Gao. It was later confirmed that Mali's defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, had been killed in a bombing at his home in Kati, near the capital Bamako, as the coordinated attacks swept the country. Camara died alongside his second wife and two grandchildren when a suicide bomber drove a car into his residence. A key figure in Mali's ruling junta and widely seen as a potential future leader. His death marked a significant escalation. Other senior officials, including military ruler Gen. Assimi Goïta, were reported to have gone into hiding. The U.S. Embassy in Mali urged American citizens to shelter in place and avoid all travel. While the Malian government said fighting was continuing, officials claimed the situation remained under control and that security forces were "engaged in repelling the attackers." Reports indicated that Russian-backed Africa Corps mercenaries were fighting alongside Malian forces in several locations, including the capital. Videos circulating on social media suggested the attacks were carried out by militants linked to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, along with Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad rebels, claimed fighters had seized control of multiple areas and warned neighboring Sahel countries against intervening. Mali has faced escalating instability in recent years, with groups linked to al-Qaeda, including JNIM, and others aligned with th...
Simultaneous militant attacks launched across Mali | AP News
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Islamic militants and separatists said they attacked several locations in Mali ‘s capital, Bamako, and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the West African country in recent years. The government gave no death toll but said that 16 people were wounded in the attacks.Mali has previously faced insurgencies fought by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s north. Most of the details of the unfolding attacks on Saturday came from local residents, who spoke to The Associated Press over the phone. The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali. The claim, posted on its website Azallaq, said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group. The Malian army said in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers.” Another statement later said the situation was under control. 2 MIN READ 4 MIN READ An Associated Press journalist in Bamako heard sustained heavy and automatic weapons gunfire from the direction of Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center. A helicopter flew over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali’s air force. A resident living near the airport also reported gunfire and three helicopters overhead. The U.S. Embassy in Bamako issued a security alert citing reports of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the international airport, and urged U.S. citizens to shelter in place and avoid travel there.Mali’s government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll. The governor of Bamako’s district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. A resident of Kati, a town near Bamako that is home to Mali’s main military base, said he was woken by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Gen. Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military junta, resides in Kati. The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion duri...
Tuareg rebels and jihadists strike Mali in coordinated offensive ...
If Africa Corps cannot relieve Bamako and the fuel siege holds, the capital becomes ungovernable and the regime loses functional control. JNIM is unlikely to physically take Bamako but could force the junta into exile or fragmentation, with cascading effects on Burkina Faso and Niger inside the Sahel Confederation.
What next for Mali's junta after shock of rebel offensive?
It is hard to overstate the sense of shock reverberating across West Africa after attackers, in co-ordinated assaults, managed to enter Mali's capital, Bamako, assassinate the defence minister and ...
