Mali Under Siege: Largest Coordinated Armed Attacks in Years

Explosions and sustained gunfire erupted in Mali’s capital Bamako on Saturday evening as armed groups launched coordinated attacks across the country in what one analyst described as the largest jihadist assault on Mali in years.

Multi-Front Assault

Fighting was reported not only in Bamako but also around Kati, home to a major military base outside the capital, as well as in the northern cities of Gao and Kidal, and the central cities of Sevare and Mopti. An analyst characterized it as “the largest jihadist attack in years.”

Mali has for years been plagued by insurgencies from groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist movement in the country’s north.

FLA and JNIM Alliance

Reports suggest the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which seeks a breakaway ethnic Tuareg state, focused its assault primarily on northern cities, while the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) staged simultaneous attacks on multiple locations nationwide.

“We had been working on this operation for a long time, in a well-planned manner, and in fact, in alliance with JNIM,” Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the FLA, told the BBC. “It is difficult to find any solution without their participation, and there was co-ordination.”

JNIM confirmed in a statement that the attacks were part of a joint operation with the FLA.

Military Claims Hundreds Killed

Mali’s military said it was fighting what it described as “terrorist groups” and claimed to have “routed” them with “several hundred” killed. However, the BBC has not been able to independently verify this claim, and there are indications that fighting continues in several areas.

“We are in Kidal and it has not fallen completely,” Ramadane said. “There are still elements of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries there. All of Gao’s gates have fallen, but the camps of the army have not.”

He earlier posted unverified footage purporting to show militants taking over a camp occupied by the Malian army and Russian mercenaries in Kidal, as well as a military helicopter supposedly shot down near Gao.

Emergency Measures

In Bamako, checkpoints have been established on roads leading to the airport, and vehicles are being searched. A curfew has been imposed from 21:00 to 06:00 local time for the next three nights.

One resident travelling back to Bamako from Ethiopia told the BBC all flights into the city had been cancelled early on Saturday. It remains unclear whether the reported attacks directly affected the airport.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Mali following the attacks, confirming that Bamako International Airport has been temporarily closed.

Background: The Junta’s Security Struggle

Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who seized power in a coup in 2020, promising to restore security and push back armed groups. The junta had popular support when it took power, pledging to deal with the long-running security crisis sparked by the Tuareg rebellion in the north — which was later hijacked by Islamist militants.

UN peacekeepers and French forces withdrew after the junta took over, and the military government hired Russian mercenaries to tackle the escalating insecurity. However, the jihadist insurgency has continued, and large parts of the north and east of the country remain outside government control.

The US State Department’s Africa bureau strongly condemned the attacks, saying: “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected, and we stand with the Malian people and government in the face of this violence.”

Source: BBC News