Insurgents launch coordinated attacks across Mali as security crisis worsens

The latest violence underscores the persistent instability in Mali despite repeated assurances from the military-led government, which has ruled since coups in 2020 and 2021 promising to restore order amid a widening jihadist insurgency and separatist violence.

In Short

• Violence hits Anefis, Aguelhoc, Gao, Sevare and Kenioroba in Mali
• FLA says its fighters have taken part in several synchronised strikes
• Gao sess pre-dawn gunfire and rockets aimed at a military camp

Insurgents launched coordinated attacks across five locations in Mali in the early hours of Saturday, including in the north where government forces and Russian-backed troops are stationed, as well as a town south of the capital Bamako, marking a fresh escalation in the country’s worsening security crisis.

The Malian army said in a statement on state television and official social media channels that the affected areas included Anefis and Aguelhoc in the north, Gao and Sevare in central Mali, and Kenioroba in the south. It added that the situation was being “closely monitored,” without providing further details on casualties.

A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led rebel group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its fighters were involved in multiple coordinated strikes. The group has previously aligned with the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) in joint operations, including a high-profile assault in April that targeted Bamako airport and killed the defence minister.

There was no immediate claim from JNIM regarding Saturday’s attacks.

FIVE CITIES IN MALI COME UNDER ATTACK

In the north, FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said fighters had entered Anefis in the Kidal region, where Malian forces and Russian personnel were deployed after earlier clashes that saw government troops pushed out of the strategic town.

In Gao, local officials reported sustained gunfire and rocket attacks on a military camp from before dawn, though responsibility for the assault remained unclear. In Sevare, residents described hearing gunfire followed by multiple explosions in the western part of the city around 8 a.m. local time, after which relative calm returned.

Kenioroba, in southern Mali, is home to a prison holding political detainees. It was not immediately clear whether the facility was among the targets. Government spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The latest violence underscores the persistent instability in Mali despite repeated assurances from the military-led government, which has ruled since coups in 2020 and 2021 promising to restore order amid a widening jihadist insurgency and separatist violence.

HISTORY OF UNREST IN MALI

The conflict has long involved Tuareg rebel groups seeking greater autonomy in the north, particularly around Kidal, alongside jihadist factions linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

In recent years, Mali has witnessed repeated high-casualty attacks, including a 2024 strike near Bamako airport that killed around 70 people, and a fuel blockade that disrupted power and supplies in the capital.

The government has meanwhile deepened security cooperation with Russia’s Africa Corps, which supports Malian forces, while also exploring renewed engagement with the United States on counterterrorism and mining interests.

The unrest in Mali is part of a wider regional crisis, with neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger also facing sustained jihadist violence and increasingly turning to external partners, including Russia, for security assistance.

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