BAMAKO, April 26 (Reuters) - Mali Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his residence, the government said on Sunday, a high-profile fatality during coordinated assaults staged the previous day by insurgents including the West Africa al Qaeda affiliate.
A car laden with explosives driven by a suicide attacker drove into Camara's residence in the town of Kati, the spokesperson, Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, said in a statement read out on state television.
A firefight ensued, and Camara sustained injuries from which he later diedin a hospital, Coulibaly said, adding that Mali would observe two days of mourning.
The statement followed media reports earlier in the day, including by Reuters, that Camara had been killed during the operation in Kati, roughly 15 km (about 9 miles) north of the capital Bamako, where the army's main base is located.
The regional al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, cooperated with a Tuareg-dominated rebel group to carry out simultaneous attacks in over half a dozen places across the country, according to claims by both groups.
The government has not provided a death toll. Coulibaly on Sunday expressed condolences for "all civilian and military victims who died," without providing a number.
Analysts and diplomats described Saturday's insurgent operation as one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.
The United Nations called for an international response to violence and terrorism in West Africa's Sahel region.
"The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali. He strongly condemns these acts of violence," a U.N. spokesperson posted on X.
FATE UNCLEAR OF STRATEGIC CITY KIDAL
In addition to Kati, Saturday's strikes hit near Bamako airport and in localities farther north, including Mopti, Sevare and Gao.
The fate of the strategic city of Kidal, a former stronghold for the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, the Tuareg-dominated group that partnered with JNIM, was unclear on Sunday.
The FLA said in a statement that Kidal had fallen, and a spokesperson for the group said on X that a deal had been struck to let Russian mercenaries leave a besieged camp outside the city where Malian armed forces were still entrenched.
But Mali's army chief of staff, General Oumar Diarra, toldthe state broadcaster on Sunday that the military had tactically repositioned forces in Kidal and that operations in the area were ongoing.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Germany-headquartered Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the attack was a setback for Russia, which backed the military-led government after it kicked out French, U.S. and other Western forces.
"For Russia the attack has been a disaster,” Laessing said. “They were unable to prevent the fall of the highly symbolic Tuareg stronghold of Kidal and now need to leave this northern city."
GOVERNMENT HAD PROMISED TO DELIVER GREATER SECURITY
Russian state‑run broadcaster Vesti reported on Sunday that Russia's Africa Corps was repelling a large‑scale militant attack on Mali's government.
According to Vesti, Russian personnel were responding along with units of Mali's Presidential Guard and armed forces, preventing the presidential palace from being seized.
Vesti said some members of Russia's Africa Corps were wounded, without providing further details.
Saturday's attacks are the latest sign that Mali's governmenthas not delivered greater security despite promising to do so.
In September 2024, JNIM attacked a paramilitary police training school near the Bamako airport, killing about 70 people. More recently, it carried out a fuel blockade that has starved the capital's residents and businesses of power and supplies.
The government has recently pursued closer ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild cooperation on security and explore mining opportunities.
Mali's foreign minister told Reuters this past Monday that neighbouring states and foreign powers were backing terrorist groups, but declined to name the countries.
(Reporting by Mali newsroom; Writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, David Holmes and Ethan Smith)
