Several coordinated attacks targeted military positions across Mali on Saturday morning.
In an emergency statement, the Malian Armed Forces General Staff indicated that “unidentified armed terrorist groups” targeted strategic locations and barracks in the capital and other parts of the country early in the morning.
“Fighting is ongoing,” the army stated, calling on the population to remain calm and vigilant, while assuring them that the defense and security forces were committed to “eliminating the attackers.”
According to several eyewitness accounts and information relayed from the ground, Bamako-Sénou International Airport was reportedly targeted in an attack, as was the Kati military garrison, an important strategic base located about fifteen kilometers from the capital.
Meanwhile the American embassy in Bamako issued a security alert on Saturday morning, indicating that it had received reports of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the Modibo Keïta International Airport. The diplomatic mission advised American citizens to remain in the area and avoid all travel to these zones until further notice. Incidents were also reported in Gao and Sévaré, where detonations and unusual troop movements were reported in the morning.
In Kidal, the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), the new name for the former CMA, claimed to have taken control of certain areas of the city, although no independent official confirmation was immediately available.
These new attacks are reminiscent of the spectacular offensive launched on September 17, 2024, by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, against the gendarmerie school in Faladié and the military base at Bamako-Sénou airport.
This simultaneous double attack targeted the Faladié garrison as well as the military zone adjacent to the international airport, triggering intense fighting and the temporary closure of the airport.
JNIM claimed responsibility for the operation, while the authorities asserted that they had regained control of the situation.
The situation remains particularly confusing, as the authorities have not yet provided an official casualty count or specified the exact identity of the attackers.
These events are occurring against a backdrop of persistent and high security tensions in Mali, marked by a rise in clashes between the army, jihadist groups, and other armed movements in the north of the country.
MD/ac/Sf/as/APA