Mali: Clashes between the junta's army and armed fighters in key cities

 

Attacks took place in at least four locations in Mali this Saturday, my RFI colleagues have learned: 

Kidal, in the far north, Gao, the main city in the north of the country, Sévaré, Mopti, in the center, and Kati, near Bamako, which houses the residence of the head of the junta, General Assimi Goïta.

Mali's army confirmed on Saturday it was involved in clashes with armed fighters who had attacked army barracks in the capital Bamako and other areas in the country.

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Since 2012, jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have fought with security services. 

Community-based criminal groups and separatists have also added to the tension.

The military government in Mali, like its counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, has severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several western countries, which tried to help with the insurgencies in the 2010s, unsucccessfully. The junta chose to move closer politically and militarily to Russia.

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Speaking this Saturday, ACLED's Senior West Africa Analyst Heni Nsaibia wrote to the media and said:

"Today’s events represent the most coordinated offensive in Mali in recent years, involving fighters from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg-led rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), who have simultaneously targeted multiple highly strategic locations, including Bamako, Kati, Mopti, Sévaré, Gao, Bourem, and Kidal.

What stands out is not only the scale, but the deliberate selection of targets. Kati and Bamako are the heart of the regime, making any militant advances there particularly significant. The destruction of the residence of Defence Minister Sadio Camara in Kati adds another symbolic dimension, that JNIM is directly targeting a leading figure of the regime.

The northern cities of Gao and Kidal also carry strong strategic and symbolic weight. Gao serves as the main operational hub for the Malian military in the north. Meanwhile, the former rebel stronghold of Kidal, which was recaptured by Malian forces and their Russian partners in late 2023 and has been central to the regime’s narrative of regaining territorial control—its eventual loss would therefore represent a major strategic setback.

The nationwide spread and importance of these locations point to a coordinated attempt to seriously challenge state authority at both the center and the periphery, and potentially to undermine the regime’s hold on power. While JNIM and the FLA appear to have gained momentum, the situation remains highly fluid and rapidly evolving.

Whether the Malian armed forces and their Russian partners can regain control will be essential—not only militarily, but for the survival of the regime in Bamako. There are clear echoes of the 2012 northern Mali takeover, though it is too early to determine whether today’s events will mark a turning point."