Updated April 26, 2026 at 12:47 PM EDT
LAGOS, Nigeria—In Mali, West Africa, armed groups including Islamist militants launched one of the largest coordinated attacks seen in recent years, targeting multiple cities across the country early Saturday.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were reported from early morning around government buildings and major military installations, signaling a highly organized offensive. As of Sunday, fighting is still ongoing.
The attacks affected the capital, Bamako, as well as at least three other locations. In Bamako, sustained gunfire and explosions were heard near the main airport, forcing the cancellation of incoming and outgoing flights. Similar incidents were reported in Sevare, Kidal, and the northern city of Gao.
It was later confirmed that Mali's defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, had been killed in a bombing at his home in Kati, near the capital Bamako, as the coordinated attacks swept the country.
Camara died alongside his second wife and two grandchildren when a suicide bomber drove a car into his residence. A key figure in Mali's ruling junta and widely seen as a potential future leader. His death marked a significant escalation. Other senior officials, including military ruler Gen. Assimi Goïta, were reported to have gone into hiding.
The U.S. Embassy in Mali urged American citizens to shelter in place and avoid all travel.
While the Malian government said fighting was continuing, officials claimed the situation remained under control and that security forces were "engaged in repelling the attackers." Reports indicated that Russian-backed Africa Corps mercenaries were fighting alongside Malian forces in several locations, including the capital.
Videos circulating on social media suggested the attacks were carried out by militants linked to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, along with Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad rebels, claimed fighters had seized control of multiple areas and warned neighboring Sahel countries against intervening.
Mali has faced escalating instability in recent years, with groups linked to al-Qaeda, including JNIM, and others aligned with the Islamic State group operating across the country, alongside a long-running Tuareg-led separatist rebellion in the north.
In August 2020, Malian military officers led by Gen. Assimi Goïta seized power in a coup d'état, later forming a military junta that pledged to improve security.
The government later broke ties with France, the former colonial power, and expelled the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which completed its withdrawal in 2023, ending a decade-long presence in the country.
Mali's junta has since turned to Russian-backed mercenaries from the Wagner Group, now known as Africa Corps, to address the country's worsening insecurity—forces that have been accused by the UN and others of waging a "climate of terror and complete impunity."
But insecurity has only worsened. Last year, Mali's capital endured a prolonged fuel blockade following attacks by the same militant groups on key supply routes.
According to this year's Global Terrorism Index, the Sahel region remained the epicenter of terrorist activity worldwide and accounted for more than half of all terrorism-related deaths in 2025, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
The country remains part of a broader regional grouping alongside Burkina Faso and Niger. All three are led by military juntas that came to power through coups. Former French colonies and once close Western partners, these countries have since distanced themselves from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and continue to face persistent jihadist insurgencies.
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