Since the deadly attacks of April 25, the Malian army has been conducting a series of large-scale operations across several parts of the country.
The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) carried out a series of major military operations that neutralised more than one hundred terrorists in less than a week, in response to coordinated attacks on April 25, 2026, which notably claimed the life of the Minister of Defense, General Sadio Camara.
According to the Malian General Staff, the counter-offensive was launched on the same day as the attacks attributed to JNIM and the FLA, which had targeted several locations in the country.
In Sévaré, in the Mopti region (central Mali), an airstrike destroyed a terrorist base, neutralising several fighters.
At the same time, a column of motorcyclists spotted near Ké-Macina was targeted, resulting in
several deaths, while an armed vehicle was destroyed in a second strike.
On April 26, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said it conducted a major operation in Kolokani, in the Koulikoro region (central Mali), where a retreating column was intercepted and destroyed.
The reported outcome indicated that more than 100 terrorists were neutralized and their logistical equipment was destroyed.
The offensive continued on April 29 in Kidal (northern Mali), which had been recaptured by the Forces for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) a few days earlier. Strikes targeted a cache of weapons and logistical equipment, resulting in the destruction of military equipment and the neutralisation of several fighters.
On May 2, two simultaneous operations were carried out. In the Timbuktu region (northern Mali), a weapons cache was destroyed southeast of Gourma Rharous.
In the Kita region, at Sebabougou in western Mali, a ground operation in response to attacks against Kati and Bamako neutralised more than fifteen terrorists and recovered approximately fifteen motorcycles.
The intensification of operations comes amid a period of national mourning following the death of
General Sadio Camara, killed in a suicide bombing in Kati claimed by JNIM.
Posthumously promoted to the rank of army general, he was buried on April 30th in a state funeral presided over by the head of the transitional government, General Assimi Goita, in the presence of
delegations from Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, members of the Confederation of Sahel States (CSA).
On the judicial front, the military prosecutor’s office in Bamako announced the opening of an investigation for internal complicity.
Several suspects have been identified, including active-duty military personnel and a political figure. Arrests have already been made, while other individuals remain actively sought.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces reaffirmed its determination to pursue armed groups “to their last strongholds throughout the national territory.”
MD/ac/Sf/fss/as/APA