Mali: combats en cours à la périphérie de Bamako et dans l'intérieur du pays entre armée et "groupes terroristes"
Fighting was underway on Saturday on the outskirts of Mali's capital Bamako and in several locations in the interior of the country between the military and "terrorist groups" who had attacked barracks, among other places, the Malian army announced in a statement.
Previously, witnesses had reported attacks in several areas of the country.
"Armed terrorist groups, not yet identified, targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and in the interior of Mali early this morning, April 25, 2026," the Malian army said in a statement.
Mali, a Sahelian country ruled by a junta, has been plagued by more than a decade of conflict and jihadist violence.
In Bamako, the streets are deserted and explosions are heard intermittently around 09:00 local time and GMT, an AFP journalist observed.
Gunfire was heard near Base 101 in Senou, the area where the airport is also located. The detonations were often spaced a few minutes apart before resuming with the same intensity, AFP observed.
In Bamako, helicopters were also circling above the capital on Saturday morning, in the vicinity of the airport.
Intense gunfire was also heard on Saturday in the neighboring city of Kati, near Bamako, which houses the residence of the head of the junta, General Assimi Goïta, AFP learned from witnesses, a security source and an elected official.
On social media, residents of Kati and the airport area posted images of their homes destroyed by the explosions.
- "We're holed up" -
"In Kati, we're still holed up," a resident told AFP.
No group had yet claimed responsibility for these attacks as of Saturday.
Besides Bamako and Kati, these shots were also heard early Saturday, according to witnesses, in Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, Kidal, in the same region, and in the town of Sévaré.
Mali is ruled by military officers who came to power through two coups in 2020 and 2021.
The country has been facing a deep security crisis since 2012, fueled in particular by violence from jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS), as well as community criminal groups and separatists.
The Wagner Group, which had supported the Malian state in its anti-jihadist fight since 2021, had announced the end of its mission in June 2025, and became the Africa Corps, an organization under the direct control of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The military took repressive measures against the press and critical voices. They also dissolved political parties and organizations of a political nature.
The Malian junta had pledged to hand power back to civilians by March 2024 at the latest, but has since failed to keep that promise.
In July 2025, the military regime granted Mr. Goïta a five-year presidential mandate renewable "as many times as necessary" and without election.
Mali’s military regime, like its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, also ruled by juntas, has turned its back on France and several Western partners to move closer politically and militarily to Russia.
Togo declared on April 18 that it wanted to "serve as a bridge" between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, during the launch of its new strategy for the Sahel.
For several months, Togo has been extending a hand to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a confederation comprising Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger which support a sovereignist policy.
The Sahel, the "epicenter" of "terrorism", will account for nearly half of the deaths related to this violence worldwide in 2025 for the third consecutive year, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index published in mid-March.
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