Combat of great magnitude was ongoing on the outskirts of the Malian capital, Bamako, and in several important cities of the country between the Malian army and “terrorist groups” that carried out coordinated attacks, this Saturday, April 25. Mali, a Sahelian country ruled by a junta, has been plagued by conflicts and jihadist violence for more than a decade, but these are the most serious attacks against the junta by jihadists and the Tuareg FLA rebellion in years.
“We are facing a vast coordinated offensive throughout the country at a level unprecedented since 2012, when the government lost half of the country. There have been serious security failures in Bamako,” commented Charlie Werb, an analyst at the consulting firm Aldebaran Threat Consultants (ATC), to AFP.
On Saturday afternoon, the fighting between the army and the assailants, which began at dawn, was intensifying on the outskirts of Bamako and in several cities, especially in Kidal, the historic bastion of independent armed groups in the North. The Tuareg rebellion of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed control.
Kidal was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army, supported by fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, putting an end to more than a decade of control by rebel groups.
The FLA also claims to have taken control of several positions in the Gao region (north), according to statements published on social networks. In messages on X, their spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, indicates that “several positions have already fallen under the control of the Azawad forces,” adding that they “continue their progress inside the city of Kidal.”
The jihadists of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, also claimed on Saturday a series of coordinated attacks with the Tuareg rebellion. In a statement, the JNIM, which has been fighting for years against the military in power in Bamako, proclaims a “victory,” considering it the result of “hard work,” of coordination with its “partners,” and “thanks to the active participation of our brothers from the Azawad Liberation Front.”
“Together we are bringing about a true transformation, in service of religion, the country, and the people,” the group declares in its statement. The JNIM claims responsibility for the attacks that targeted the Malian President Assimi Goïta, the Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara, the international airport of Bamako, the capital, and “military sites in the neighboring town of Kati,” the stronghold of the junta. The jihadists also claim to have taken “total control of the city of Mopti (center) and control most of the army and mercenaries’ strongholds in Sévaré (center) and Gao (north).”
On the other hand, the African Union (AU) said it “strongly condemns” these attacks by armed groups, estimating that they “risk exposing civilian populations to significant dangers.” After announcing that “terrorist armed groups, not yet identified,” had “this morning targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and the interior” and that fighting was ongoing, the Malian army later stated in a new communiqué that the situation was “under control,” despite gunfire still being heard, and that “several terrorists have been neutralized and equipment destroyed.”
<p"The JNIM and the FLA have launched coordinated attacks in Mali. Numerous positions of the army and the Africa Corps (Russian paramilitary organization) continue to be targeted in Kati, Kidal, Sévaré, and Gao," summarized Hasret Karğın, Africa researcher at the intelligence firm Mintel World. "The chances of retaking cities like Kidal and Gao without military support from abroad are very slim. Foreign support will be the decisive factor for both sides," he noted.
Mali is governed by military officials who came to power through two coups in 2020 and 2021. The country has been facing a deep security crisis since 2012, fueled mainly by the violence of jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) organization, as well as communal criminal groups and separatists.
