Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida and Tuareg separatists carried out one of the largest coordinated assaults in Mali in more than a decade on Saturday, striking the capital Bamako, its international airport, a key military base and several cities across the north and centre of the country.
The al-Qaida-affiliated group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had acted jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist movement. JNIM said its fighters targeted strategic sites including the residence of junta leader General Assimi Goïta and that of Defence Minister General Sadio Camara.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were reported from early morning near Kati, the garrison town just north of Bamako that houses Mali’s main military base and where General Goïta resides. Residents described sustained automatic rifle fire and heavy weapons, with military helicopters circling overhead. A shopkeeper living near the defence minister’s residence said the building was badly damaged by an explosion.
Gunfire also erupted at Modibo Keita International Airport on the outskirts of the capital, forcing its temporary closure.
The Malian army said unidentified “terrorist groups” had targeted locations and barracks in Bamako, but later stated that the situation in the capital was “under control” and that soldiers were conducting clearing operations. It did not provide details on casualties.
Attacks were also reported in the central towns of Sévaré and Mopti, as well as in the northern cities of Gao and Kidal. In Kidal, a former stronghold of the Tuareg rebellion recaptured by Malian forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023, insurgents reportedly entered several neighbourhoods and clashed with government troops. Videos circulating on social media showed armed convoys of militants moving through deserted streets in Kati as fearful residents looked on.
A resident of Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, told reporters that explosions and gunfire began in the early hours and continued into the afternoon, shaking the doors and windows of homes near the army camp and airport. “I’m scared out of my wits,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The United States embassy in Bamako issued a security alert warning of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the international airport, urging American citizens to shelter in place. The British Foreign Office advised against all travel to Mali and noted the closure of Bamako airport.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, described the assaults as the largest coordinated attack in years in Mali. He warned that the apparent alliance between JNIM and Tuareg rebels was especially concerning, recalling how the two groups joined forces in 2012 to seize control of northern Mali and ignite a prolonged regional security crisis.
Analysts said the scale of the operation — striking both the political and military heart of the junta in Bamako while simultaneously challenging government control in the north — represented a significant challenge to Mali’s military regime. The junta, which took power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, has increasingly relied on Russian support, first through the Wagner Group and later the Africa Corps, after expelling French and United Nations forces.
Despite Moscow’s assistance, the security situation in Mali has continued to deteriorate, with JNIM expanding its operations and imposing a damaging fuel blockade on Bamako earlier this year. Saturday’s attacks come less than two years after the same group claimed a major assault on Bamako’s airport and a military training camp in 2024 that killed dozens.Mali, along with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, has been battling insurgencies by al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates for more than a decade. Azawad separatists have long sought an independent state in the north.
As evening fell, reports from northern Mali remained fragmentary, and independent verification of rebel claims of territorial gains was not immediately possible. The Malian army has yet to release a full accounting of the day’s events or casualty figures.
The coordinated strikes have once again exposed the fragility of Mali’s junta-led government and the persistent instability that continues to plague the Sahel region.
