Mali’s defence minister Sadio Camara has died from injuries sustained in a suicide truck bombing at his home near the capital Bamako, as the country reels from a barrage of attacks by jihadist militants and Tuareg separatists.
The assaults, which unfolded across key sites including Kati, Gao, Sevare, Mopti, and northern Kidal, represent one of the boldest coordinated strikes against the military junta in years. State broadcaster ORTM confirmed Camara’s death hours after initial reports, noting he succumbed to wounds from exchanging fire with the attackers.
Government spokesperson Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said Camara fell victim to “a vehicle laden with explosives and driven by a suicide attacker targeted the minister’s residence” and that he “succeeded in neutralising some of them” before being rushed to hospital.
The blast levelled his residence, destroyed a nearby mosque with worshippers inside, and killed at least three family members, according to relatives cited by French media. Gen Assimi Goïta, the junta leader, was moved to safety after his home was targeted.
In Kidal, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) battled Malian forces and Russian Africa Corps mercenaries for two days before claiming a breakthrough. FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told the BBC that Kidal had “not fallen completely” at first due to lingering enemy elements, but later announced “an agreement was reached between the Azawad forces and the Russian elements of the Africa Corps with a view to ensuring their secure withdrawal from the fighting.”
He added they were “permanently withdrawing from Kidal” and declared “Kidal is now free,” though Bamako has not confirmed this.
Ulf Laessing of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation described the violence to the BBC as the “largest co-ordinated jihadist attack on Mali for years.” State media reported 16 injuries, limited damage and dead terrorists, insisting control was restored, yet fighting persisted in several areas.
The military vowed the unrest would not go unanswered with nationwide alerts, patrols, and curfews, including Bamako’s from 21:00 to 06:00 GMT until Monday. UN chief António Guterres condemned the acts of violence, as did Ecowas and AU chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. Burkina Faso’s Capt Ibrahim Traoré called the attacks “barbaric and inhumane” and “backed by the enemies of the Sahel liberation struggle,” vowing they cannot “shake the will of the valiant people of Sahel to live in freedom, peace, and dignity.”
Mali’s junta, in power since Goïta’s 2020 coup, faces entrenched insurgencies despite Russian support replacing French and UN forces.