Major fighting near Mali’s capital Bamako
- Significant battles are taking place on Saturday, April 25, near several major cities in Mali, including the capital Bamako.
- According to authorities, “terrorist groups” and Tuareg rebels are currently engaging the army.
A series of coordinated offensives. Significant clashes are underway on Saturday, April 25 in Mali. The Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), linked to Al-Qaeda and recognized as the most significant threat in the Sahel region by the UN, claims a series of coordinated attacks with the Tuareg rebellion. They declare a “victory,” stating it is “the result of hard work,” coordination with their “partners,” and “thanks to the active participation of our brothers from the Azawad Liberation Front” (FLA, Tuareg rebellion). “Together, we are undergoing a true transformation, serving religion, the country, and the people,” they emphasize.
Several cities have fallen
The fighting has affected multiple major cities in the country, extending to the outskirts of the capital Bamako. The key city of Kidal in northern Mali, recaptured by regular forces at the end of 2023, has fallen. “The city of Kidal is now under the control of our armed forces,” writes FLA, a merge of several dominant Tuareg groups, in a Facebook post. “Our FLA troops control Kidal, most of Kidal. The governor of Kidal has taken refuge with his elements at the ex-Minusma camp,” states their spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane. JNIM mentions “a successful operation conducted against the Malian army and the Russian mercenary corps with the participation of our FLA partners.”
Additionally, the army is said to have lost “total control of the city of Mopti (center)” and “most of (its) strongholds in Sevare (center) and Gao (north).”
Grave security failures in Bamako
According to Charlie Werb, an analyst at Aldebaran Threat Consultants (ATC), “we are facing a vast coordinated offensive throughout the country at an unprecedented level since 2012, when the government lost half of the country.” “There have been serious security failures in Bamako,” he asserts. “JNIM and FLA have launched coordinated attacks in Mali. Many positions of the army and the Africa Corps (Russian paramilitary organization) continue to be targeted in Kati, Kidal, Sevare, and Gao,” adds Hasret Kargün, an Africa researcher at Mintel World intelligence firm.
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Since 2012, Mali has been plagued by conflicts and violence from jihadist groups, criminal community groups, and separatists. Following two coups in 2020 and 2021, the country came under the control of a military junta supported by Russian militias. This regime led to the withdrawal of French troops, deployed to combat the Islamic State in the region.
