The defense minister of Mali was killed in an attack on his home on Sunday, as the army waged a second day of clashes with Islamist extremists and separatist rebels near the capital, Bamako, and other cities, putting the Sahel nation’s ruling junta under intense pressure.
Defense Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife, and two grandkids were killed in a vehicle bomb strike at his home in Kita, a junta stronghold near Bamako, according to his family and an official.
The shock attacks on Saturday were coordinated by Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and they attacked many places across the vast arid country.
Fighting continued Sunday in multiple locations, including Kita near Bamako, Kidal, Gao, and Severe.
Meanwhile, Tuareg rebels announced an agreement that would allow Russian forces helping Mali’s army to leave from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was “totally” under their control.
“An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave 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.
The Malian army, supported by Russia’s Wagner paramilitary organization, retook Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, in November 2023, putting an end to insurgent domination after more than a decade.
The FLA also claims to have established outposts 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 told AFP on Sunday.
Mali has been racked by conflict and Islamist bloodshed for almost a decade, but Saturday’s strikes were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized control.
The attacks occurred on the outskirts of the Malian capital Bamako, as well as in towns and cities across the Sahel nation.
The conflict wounded 16 people and soldiers and caused “limited material damage,” according to a government statement issued Saturday evening.
It added that “the situation is totally under control in all the localities” that were attacked.
In the capital, access to military institutions has been blocked by barriers and tires on the highways, an AFP journalist said.
In the outlying town of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed severe fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was nervous.
“I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It’s traumatizing,” a resident said.
Kati was calm after “the jihadists left the area, but we are living in fear,” a resident told AFP on Sunday.
