Explosions and sustained gunfire have been reported in Mali’s capital, Bamako, as armed groups launch apparently co-ordinated attacks across the country.
The military said in a statement on Saturday that “fighting is ongoing”, adding “our defence and security forces are currently engaged in repelling the attackers”. Witnesses have told news agency Reuters of explosions and gunfire around Kati, home to a major military base outside the capital. Soldiers have been deployed to block off roads in the area.
There are also reports of attacks in Gao and Kidal in the north, and Sevare in central Mali, in what one analyst described as the largest jihadist attack in years. Reports suggest the assault by the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) – which seeks a breakaway ethnic Tuareg state – was primarily focused on northern cities, while the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) had staged simultaneous attacks on multiple locations across the country.