The Malian Army has confirmed that armed groups have launched an offensive on several fronts this morning against the Malian military forces in several barracks in the capital, Bamako, and other parts of the country.
“The fighting continues and we urge the population to remain calm and vigilant,” the General Staff of the Malian Army announced on social networks. “Our defense and security forces are currently working to neutralize the attackers,” he added.
Local media sources have confirmed clashes in Bamako and in the cities of Kati, Gao y Mopti. In Kati, a town near the capital, is the residence of the country’s coup leader, General Assimi Goita.
A possible jihadist and Tuareg coalition
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the incidents but all eyes are on two: the Islam and Muslims Support Group (JNIM)linked to Al Qaeda, and the Tuareg group of Liberation Front for Azawad (FLA).
In March of this year, sources from the French international broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI) suggested conversations between both groups to carry out joint offensives against the Malian military and their main international allies: Russian mercenaries from the former, now Africa Corps, who have carried out surveillance and security tasks at the service of the military junta led by Goita.
This major offensive also takes place after several months of operations by the JNIM and the FLA against fuel routes that at one point were on the verge of suffocating the capital, Bamako.
The current coup junta came to power through two coups d’état in 2020 and 2021 and, since then, has entered into a regional alliance with two other junta, all of them with the common denominator of their rejection of the former French colonial power and its proximity to Russia.
However, the African Sahel region has remained exposed to enormous security challenges due to constant attacks by JNIM, Tuareg separatists or roving cells of the Islamic State. The Malian military junta had promised to return power to civilians by March 2024 at the latest, but has not kept its promise.
In July 2025, the military regime granted Goita a five-year presidential mandate, renewable “as many times as necessary” and without elections.
