Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara killed in garrison town of Kati amid coordinated attacks across nation
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara killed in garrison town of Kati amid coordinated attacks across nation")
Attackers carried out a suicide car bomb attack on Defence Minister, General Sadio Camara’s residence in Kati. Photograph: (AFP)
Defence Minister, General Sadio Camara, was a central figure in the military government that seized power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Camara was one of the most influential figures in the ruling military leadership and was seen as a likely future leader of Mali.
Mali’s Defence Minister, General Sadio Camara, has been killed amid coordinated attacks on military sites across the West African country. The news came on Sunday, a day after his residence in the garrison town of Kati came under attack during the simultaneous, coordinated attacks launched by an al-Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels on Saturday. As per reports, attackers carried out a suicide car bomb attack on Camara’s residence in Kati, a heavily fortified military town about 15 km northwest of the capital, Bamako.
Camara was a central figure in the military government that seized power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
As per reports, Camara was one of the most influential figures in the ruling military leadership and was seen as a likely future leader of Mali.
Also Read: Explosions, gunfire rock Mali’s capital, other cities as armed groups launch coordinated attacks
Interim President Assimi Goita under pressure, caught off guard by violence
Armed men also attacked several other locations across Mali, including capital Bamako, as well as Gao and Kidal in the north, and the central city of Sevare.
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Interim President Assimi Goita has come under pressure, as analysts say the authorities appeared to have been caught off guard by the latest wave of violence.
The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States Bureau of African Affairs condemned the attacks across Mali.
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Mali plagued by insurgent groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State
Fighting was reported around Kati, home to a major military base outside the capital, as well as in Gao, and the central cities of Sevare and Mopti on Saturday. On Sunday, gunfire resumed in Kidal in the north, said reports.
Mali has been plagued by 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) staged simultaneous attacks on multiple locations across the country.
Mali’s military said it was fighting what it described as “terrorist groups”, which had been “routed” with “several hundred” killed.
It is understood that a number of Russian mercenaries, working for the Malian government, are involved in the fighting.
Fresh fighting erupts in Kati, Kidal on Sunday
Fresh fighting erupted Sunday in the key Malian town of Kidal between Tuareg rebels backed by jihadists and government forces supported by Russian mercenaries.
“Today, Sunday, fighting resumed in Kidal between the Malian army, the Russians, and the (Tuareg) rebels. Residents heard gunfire. There’s shooting,” said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Fighting also broke out Sunday in Kati, the stronghold of Mali’s ruling junta near the capital Bamako, residents said.
