On Saturday, unidentified gunmen attacked military barracks in the Malian capital Bamako and other areas of this West African country. The army said it was fighting “terrorist groups”. According to AFP, witnesses reported shootings in several cities. The Reuters agency wrote that it was apparently a coordinated attack involving several groups, reports TASR.
- Gunmen attacked military barracks in Mali’s capital.
- The army is fighting against unidentified terrorist groups.
- Shooting and explosions were reported from several places in the country.
- No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Continuous shooting and two loud explosions were heard near the international airport in the capital of Mali on Saturday morning. The airport, located about 15 kilometers from the center of Bamako, is adjacent to the main air base used by the Malian Air Force.
Several helicopters were also seen nearby by an AP reporter and residents, while soldiers were deployed in the area to block roads. Around the same time, similar incidents also occurred in the city of Sévaré in central Mali, as well as in the cities of Kidal and Gao in the north.
The fighting continues
“Terrorist groups, whose identity has not yet been established, attacked some locations and barracks in the capital and inland early this morning,” the military said in a statement quoted by AFP, adding that fighting was continuing. No armed group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The army called on residents to maintain calm.
Meanwhile, the rebel group Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) announced on social media that its forces had taken control of several positions in Kidala and Gao. Reuters said it could not independently verify the information. According to the agency’s sources, the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) was also involved in Saturday’s attacks, but it did not immediately claim responsibility.
This is not the first coup
Mali has experienced two military coups since August 2020, when the military ousted elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. In addition, since 2012, this West African state has been fighting in the north and in the central part against the jihadist insurgency of groups connected to the al-Qaeda network and the Islamic State group. These fights spread from Mali to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, where coups also took place.
The military juntas that seized power subsequently turned to Russia instead of Western allies with a request for help in the fight against militants, AP writes. However, according to analysts, the security situation has worsened in all three countries recently; militants have committed a record number of attacks there. In 2024, an al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for an attack on an airport and military training camp in Bamako that killed dozens.
