BAMAKO, April 26 (Reuters) – Sustained gunfire rang out in a garrison town near Mali’s capital on Sunday, a Reuters witness said, a day after an al Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels carried out one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.
The gunfire in the town of Kati suggested that fighting had entered a second day, despite the army saying it had reasserted control.
The United Nations called for an international response to violence and terrorism in the West Africa Sahel region following Saturday’s large-scale assaults.
“The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali. He strongly condemns these acts of violence,” a U.N. spokesperson posted on X.
WAVE OF COORDINATED ATTACKS
An al Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks around the capital, Bamako, in gold-producing areas and elsewhere across Mali, in one of the boldest operations insurgents have mounted in their campaign against the military-led government.
The final toll of deaths and injuries remained unclear on Sunday, as did the fate of the contested city of Kidal, which the insurgents claimed to have recaptured from government forces in the assault.
Government spokesperson Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said 16 people had been injured and the situation was completely under control in all areas under attack. An overnight curfew lasting three days has also been implemented.
RUSSIAN MERCENARIES CAUGHT IN THE BATTLE
But the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-dominated rebel group involved in various uprisings against the government for decades, said on Sunday it had seized back control of Kidal.
An FLA spokesperson said in a post on X that a deal had been struck to let Russian mercenaries leave a besieged camp outside the city where Malian armed forces were still entrenched.
Claiming responsibility on Saturday, the FLA said it had carried out the wide-scale operation alongside al Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
JNIM also issued a statement on Saturday, published by SITE Intelligence Group, claiming responsibility for attacks in Kati, on Bamako’s airport and in areas further north, including Mopti, Sevare and Gao.
Reuters could not independently verify the JNIM and FLA claims.
Saturday’s attacks are the latest sign that Mali’s government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, is struggling to deliver greater security after kicking out Western forces and turning to Russia for help instead.
In September 2024, JNIM attacked a gendarmerie training school near Bamako airport, killing about 70 people. More recently, it carried out an effective blockade on fuel imports that has starved the capital’s residents and businesses of power and supplies.
The government headed by Assimi Goita has recently pursued closer ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild cooperation on security and explore mining opportunities.
Mali’s foreign minister told Reuters on Monday that neighbouring states and foreign powers were supporting terrorist groups, but declined to name the countries.
(Reporting by Mali newsroom; Writing by Jessica DonatiEditing by Bate Felix and Helen Popper)
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