Explosions and sustained gunfire have been reported in Mali’s capital, Bamako, as armed groups launch apparently co-ordinated attacks across the country.
The military said in a statement on Saturday that “fighting is ongoing”, adding “our defence and security forces are currently engaged in repelling the attackers”.
Witnesses have told news agency Reuters of explosions and gunfire around Kati, home to a major military base outside the capital. Soldiers have been deployed to block off roads in the area.
There are also reports of attacks in Gao and Kidal in the north, and Sevare in central Mali, in what one analyst described as the largest jihadist attack in years.
Mali has for years been plagued by jihadist insurgencies by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist movement in the country’s north.
Reports suggest the assault by the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) – which seeks a breakaway ethnic Tuareg state – was primarily focused on northern cities, while the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) had staged simultaneous attacks on multiple locations across the country.
Mali’s military said it was fighting unidentified “terrorist groups” and the situation was under control, but unconfirmed reports suggest fighting continues.
While some residents describe calm in most parts of the capital, there are ongoing reports of gunfire in some areas. Checkpoints have been established on roads leading to the airport and vehicles are being searched, according to reports.
One resident, who was travelling back to Bamako from Ethiopia, told the BBC all flights into the city had been cancelled early on Saturday. It is not yet clear whether the reported attacks have affected the airport.
The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Mali following the attacks, adding Bamako International Airport had been temporarily closed.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali, told the BBC the incident appeared to be the “largest co-ordinated jihadist attack on Mali for years”.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the African Union Commission, said he was following the situation with “deep concern,” adding in a statement on X that he “strongly condemns these acts which risk exposing civilian populations to significant harm”.
The US State Department’s Africa bureau strongly condemned the attacks, adding: “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected, and we stand with the Malian people and government in the face of this violence.”
The US Embassy there has told citizens to shelter in place and avoid travel, citing explosions and gunfire around the airport and near Kati.
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the FLA, wrote on social media that its forces had taken control of Kidal and were expanding its presence in the centre of Gao.
He posted footage purporting to show militants taking over a camp occupied by the Malian army and Russian mercenaries in Kidal, as well as a military helicopter that had supposedly been shot down near Gao. The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.
The FLA has for years been fighting for the creation of the state of Azawad in northern Mali, a large swathe of which it has effective control over.
Ramadane also urged neighbouring countries Burkina Faso and Niger not to intervene.
Mali is currently ruled by a military junta led by Gen Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a coup in 2020, promising to restore security and push back armed groups.
The junta had popular support when it took power, promising to deal with the long-running security crisis prompted by the Tuareg rebellion in the north, which was then hijacked by Islamist militants.
UN peacekeepers and French forces deployed to deal with the escalating insurgency left after the junta took over, and the military government hired Russian mercenaries to help tackle the insecurity.
However, the jihadist insurgency has continued and large parts of the north and east of the country remain outside government control.
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