The gunmen attacked simultaneously inside and outside the Malian capital, the military said
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Insurgents attacked Mali’s capital, Bamako, and elsewhere across the country on Saturday, with the military urging people to remain calm as the military-led government faces a major offensive against them.
The UN security paper said there had been “sophisticated simultaneous attacks” in Kati, near Bamako airport and in towns and villages in the north including Mopti, Gao and Kidal, while the US Embassy in Mali urged its residents to seek shelter.
There were similar riots at the same time in the town center of Sevare and the village of Kidal and the town of Gao in northern Mali.
“There are gunshots everywhere,” said a witness in Sevare. Two other witnesses said that the house of Defense Minister Sadio Camara in Kati was attacked and destroyed.
Mali is fighting an insurgency by West African affiliates al-Qaeda and ISIS. It also grapples with a very long history of Tuareg-led rebellion in the north.
There is no immediate claim of responsibility
The Malian military said shortly after 11:00 a.m. that the situation was under control, but the “sweeping operation” was still ongoing. It was not clear if that affected the entire country.
Mali has been at war with armed groups since 2012, with violence escalating over the past decade and forcing millions to flee their homes. Freelance reporter Caitlin Kelly spoke to some of the refugees who fled to neighboring Mauritania.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which often attacks military installations.
But four security sources told Reuters that the group is involved and appears to be working with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-dominated rebel alliance that is active in Gao and Kidal.
The spokesperson of the FLA, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said on social media that the soldiers are in charge of positions in Gao and one of the two military camps in Kidal.
Reuters could not independently verify his claims.
Mali’s military leaders took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, vowing to restore security, but the military continues to attack soldiers and civilians.
‘Largest coordinated attack of all time’
Saturday’s attack signals a possible escalation of the insurgency, which began in 2012 when Tuareg rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militias seized large swaths of northern Mali.
“This looks like the biggest attack that has been put together for years,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
While the attack on Bamako may be called off, losses in northern Mali, including Kidal, are “really possible,” said Benedict Manzin, lead Middle East and Africa analyst at risk firm Sibylline.
“It’s a big test of the state today,” said Manzin.
Gunshots were heard near the airport, a resident said
Gunshots were also heard early Saturday morning near the military camp near the Bamako airport where Russian soldiers are stationed, said a resident.
“We hear gunfire near the military camp. It’s not the airport itself, but the camp that protects the airport,” said a resident who did not want to be named for security reasons.
The government led by Assimi Goita is dependent on the Russian military for security support while initially rejecting defense cooperation with the West.
More recently it has pursued closer ties with the US
Reuters reported in March that Mali and the US were nearing an agreement that would allow Washington to resume airstrikes and drones in the West African country’s airspace to gather intelligence on jihadist groups.
