DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Islamic militants and separatists said they attacked several locations in Mali 's capital, Bamako, and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the West African country in recent years. The government gave no death toll but said that 16 people were wounded in the attacks.
Mali has previously faced insurgencies fought by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and , as well as a separatist rebellion in the country's north.
Most of the details of the unfolding attacks on Saturday came from local residents, who spoke to The Associated Press over the phone.
The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali. The claim, posted on its website Azallaq, said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group.
The Malian army said in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers.”
Another statement later said the situation was under control.
Near-simultaneous attacks
An Associated Press journalist in Bamako heard sustained heavy and automatic weapons gunfire from the direction of Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center. A helicopter flew over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali's air force. A resident living near the airport also reported gunfire and three helicopters overhead.
The U.S. Embassy in Bamako issued a security alert citing reports of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the international airport, and urged U.S. citizens to shelter in place and avoid travel there.
Mali’s government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
A resident of Kati, a town near Bamako that is home to Mali’s main military base, said he was woken by the sound of gunfire and explosions.
Gen. Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military junta, resides in Kati. The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion during the attack, a nearby shopkeeper told the AP.
The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Videos on social media showed militant convoys in trucks and motorcycles moving through Kati's deserted streets, while residents looked on fearfully. Residents of Sevare and Mopti, two towns in central Mali, also reported attacks by gunmen.
Other videos — from the northern towns of Kidal and Gao — showed gunfire exchanges in the streets, with dead bodies lying on the ground.
Insurgents entered Kidal, taking control of some neighborhoods and leading to exchanges of fire with the army, a former mayor of the town told the AP by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
Separatists join Islamic militants
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the separatist Azawad movement, said in a post on Facebook that its forces had taken control of Kidal as well as some areas in Gao, another northeastern city.
The AP could not independently verify the claim. Azawad separatists have been to create an independent state in northern Mali.
Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the separatist rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
A resident of Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, said gunfire and explosions started in the early hours of Saturday and were still heard later in the morning.
“The force of the explosions is making the doors and windows of my house shake. I’m scared out of my wits,” the resident said by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety. The resident said the gunfire came from the army camp and the airport, which are right next to each other.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the assault seems to be the largest coordinated attack in years in Mali.
“It’s especially concerning that JNIM apparently has been coordinating today’s attacks with Tuareg rebels, “Laessing said. Jihadis and Tuareg rebels teamed up before, in 2012, he added.
At the time they jointly overran northern Mali, ”sparking the region's security crisis,” Laessing said.
Turning to Russia
Along with Mali, neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso have also been battling al-Qaida and ID affiliates.
Following military coups, the juntas in the three countries turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has , analysts say, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako’s airport and a military training camp in the capital, .
