Armed Groups Launch Coordinated Offensive Across Mali

Armed groups launched a coordinated offensive against Mali's military and strategic installations early Saturday, with attacks striking Bamako, the capital, as well as the international airport and multiple cities including Kati, Mopti, Gao, and Kidal. Mali's army confirmed the assaults and stated that "combats continue" while urging the population to remain calm, adding that security forces are working to neutralize the attackers. The attacks began around 5 a.m. local time, with explosions reported near Kati, where the main military base and the residence of military leader General Assimi Goita are located, and at the Modibo Keita international airport, which was subsequently closed under the custody of Russian mercenaries. The U.S. Embassy in Mali has advised citizens to avoid travel. No group has officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, though suspicion has fallen on two main armed factions: the JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims), an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist organization, and the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA), a Tuareg separatist group. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, an FLA spokesperson, announced on social media that their forces had taken control of several positions in Kidal and Gao, though this claim could not be independently verified. Reports from March indicated that JNIM and FLA had been discussing the possibility of conducting joint offensives against Malian military forces and their Russian mercenary allies from Africa Corps, formerly known as the Wagner Group. The offensive occurs within the context of a prolonged power struggle since the military junta, led by Goita, seized control through two coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta, which governs alongside fellow military regimes in Burkina Faso and Niger in a regional alliance that has shifted from French influence toward Russian partnership, had promised to return power to civilians by March 2024 but failed to do so. In July 2025, the regime granted Goita a five-year presidential mandate renewable indefinitely without elections. The Sahel region has continued to face severe security challenges from jihadist groups, separatist movements, and Islamic State cells operating across vast territories with limited state control.