Intense fighting was taking place 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 on Saturday, April 25. Mali, a Sahelian country led by a junta, has been plagued by jihadist conflicts and violence for more than a decade, but these are the most serious attacks against the junta by jihadists and the Tuareg rebellion of the FLA in years.
“We are facing a large coordinated offensive across the country to an unprecedented level since 2012 when the government lost half 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 army and assailants, who started early in the morning, were engaged in intense fighting on the outskirts of Bamako and in several cities, particularly in Kidal, the historic stronghold 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 Wagner, the Russian paramilitary group, ending over a decade of control by rebel groups.
The FLA also claimed to have taken control of several positions in the Gao region (north), according to statements on social media. In messages, their spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, indicated that “several positions have already passed under the control of the Azawad forces,” adding that they “continue their progress inside the city of Kidal.”
The jihadists of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, also claimed a series of coordinated attacks with the Tuareg rebellion on Saturday. In a statement, the JNIM, which has been fighting against the military in power in Bamako for years, proclaimed a “victory,” attributing it to “hard work,” coordination with their “partners,” and “thanks to the active participation of our brothers from the Azawad Liberation Front.”
“Together we are undergoing a real transformation, serving the religion, the country, and the people,” the group declared in their statement. The JNIM also took “responsibility” for the attacks targeting the Malian President’s headquarters, the Defense Minister’s headquarters, the international airport in Bamako, and military sites in the neighboring city of Kati, a stronghold of the junta.
Furthermore, the African Union (AU) strongly condemned these attacks by armed groups, stating that they “risk exposing civilian populations to significant dangers.” After reports that “terrorist armed groups, as yet unidentified,” targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and elsewhere, the Malian army later declared in a new statement that the situation was “under control,” despite ongoing gunfire, and that “several terrorists had been neutralized and equipment destroyed.”
<p"The JNIM and the FLA launched coordinated attacks in Mali. Many positions of the army and the Africa Corps (Russian paramilitary organization) are still being targeted in Kati, Kidal, Sévaré and Gao," summarized Hasret Kargün, an Africa researcher at Mintel World intelligence firm. "The chances of retaking cities like Kidal and Gao without African military support are very slim. African support will be the decisive factor for both sides," he added.
Mali has been ruled by military leaders who came to power through two coups in 2020 and 2021. Since 2012, the country has been facing a deep security crisis fueled mainly by the violence of jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as communal criminal groups and separatists.
