Mali’s defense minister dies as fighting continues

Mali’s ruling junta came under intense strain after Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his home, while army forces battled for a second straight day against jihadist fighters and separatist rebels near Bamako and in other parts of the country.

Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren were killed in a car bomb attack on his residence in the junta bastion of Kita, outside the capital, according to his family and an official.

The coordinated assaults were carried out by Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition alongside the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), striking multiple locations across the vast, arid nation.

Clashes resumed in several areas, including Kita near Bamako, as well as Kidal, Gao and Severe.

“An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday,” a Tuareg official told AFP.

“We saw a military convoy leave, but don’t know the details of what’s happening … Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets,” a resident added.

Kidal, a Tuareg bastion, was recaptured in November 2023 by the Malian army with backing from Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than 10 years of rebel control.

The FLA also says it has taken positions in the northern Gao region.

“The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol,” a security source said today.

Mali has endured more than a decade of conflict and jihadist violence, but the attacks on Saturday were the most serious since the junta took power in 2020.

They unfolded on the outskirts of Bamako and in towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel state.

The violence wounded 16 civilians and soldiers and caused “limited material damage,” the government said in a statement issued last night.

It said “the situation is totally under control in all the localities” targeted in the attacks.

In Bamako, access to military sites has been sealed off with barriers and tyres placed across roads, while the outlying district of Senou, home to the airport, also saw heavy fighting.

Modibo Keita International Airport near Bamako (File image)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned the “acts of violence” in Mali.

“The Secretary General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General calls for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to meet urgent humanitarian needs.”

The European Union also condemned what it described as the “terrorist attacks” in Mali.

Russia’s Africa Corps, which operates under the direct control of the Russian defence ministry, has replaced the mercenary Wagner group in supporting Malian forces in their fight against jihadists.

Mali is rich in resources, including gold and other valuable minerals.

Like the military leaders in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, Mali’s rulers have broken with former colonial power France and several Western partners, while drawing closer to Russia.