Mali’s military-led government is facing one of its most severe security challenges to date following a series of highly synchronized attacks launched by armed groups across the country on Saturday morning. The assault began around 6:00 AM local time with heavy gunfire and explosions rocking the Kati military base—the residence of junta leader General Assimi Goïta—and the Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako. Witnesses reported that the residence of Defense Minister Sadio Camara was destroyed during the shelling, while commercial flights were abruptly canceled as Russian-backed Africa Corps mercenaries engaged in fierce urban combat to repel the infiltrators near the airport perimeter.
The violence was not contained to the capital; simultaneous strikes were reported in the central town of Sévaré and the northern strategic hubs of Gao and Kidal. In a significant escalation, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led rebel alliance, claimed to have seized full control of Kidal and several military positions in Gao, even releasing footage of fighters inside the Kidal governor’s office. Security analysts suggest that the Al-Qaeda-affiliated group JNIM coordinated with the FLA to execute this multi-front offensive, showcasing a level of operational sophistication that has caught the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) off guard.
By Saturday afternoon, the Malian Army issued a statement claiming the situation was “under control” and that sweeping operations were underway to “annihilate” the remaining attackers. However, the scale of the coordinated strikes has sparked widespread panic, with the U.S. Embassy issuing a shelter-in-place order for its citizens. As the junta struggles to maintain its promise of restoring security, this nationwide offensive underscores the growing instability in the Sahel region following the withdrawal of French and UN peacekeeping forces. The international community, including the OIC, has strongly condemned the violence, which threatens to plunge the landlocked nation deeper into a decade-long cycle of insurgency and rebellion.
