Mali’s Defense Minister Killed in Coordinated Rebel and Jihadist Offensive
Mali’s defense minister was killed in a wave of coordinated attacks by jihadi fighters and separatist rebels across the country, authorities said Sunday.
Government spokesman Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said Gen. Sadio Camara was killed after a vehicle packed with explosives and driven by a suicide attacker targeted his residence in Kati, a garrison town near the capital, Bamako.
He said the minister returned fire and “succeeded in neutralizing some of them” but was wounded and later died in hospital.
Camara, a central figure in Mali’s military leadership following coups in 2020 and 2021, was widely seen as one of the most influential members of the ruling junta. The attack on his home was part of a broader offensive against Mali’s junta and its Russian allies that began Saturday.
The offensives were claimed by fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-linked group, and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). Aside from Bamako, joint operations by the groups were reported in northern and central cities, including Gao and Kidal in the north and Mopti and Sevare in central Mali.
Saturday’s wave of attacks, described as one of the largest coordinated assaults in Mali in recent years, marked the first time the FLA has joined forces with JNIM.
Other reports said three members of Camara’s family and civilians, including worshippers at a nearby mosque, were among those killed in recent attacks. No official death toll has been released, though the government previously said at least 16 people were wounded.
According to reports, insurgent forces seized Kidal following two days of fighting, forcing Russian personnel deployed under the African Corps, a structure established by Russia’s Ministry of Defense after the decline of the Wagner Group, to withdraw.
Videos posted on social media showed soldiers and equipment with Russia’s Africa Corps, including armored vehicles, towed artillery and rocket artillery, withdrawing from a barracks in Kidal.
Meanwhile, the FLA said it has also taken positions in the northern Gao region.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” by the resumption of fighting in a region already facing terror threats and humanitarian challenges.
“The secretary-general is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali,” Guterres’ office said in a statement. “He strongly condemns these acts of violence, expresses solidarity with the Malian people and stresses the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Guterres also called for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel region.
The regional bloc ECOWAS, from which Mali withdrew in 2025, also condemned the attacks and urged all states across West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat the violence.
