Terrorists kill Malian Defence Minister

Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, has been killed following a wave of coordinated attacks on military targets across the country. Security sources said Camara died after a vehicle-borne explosive device detonated outside his residence in Kati, a heavily fortified town about 15 kilometres from Bamako, where interim President Assimi Goita and other junta leaders are […]

Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, has been killed following a wave of coordinated attacks on military targets across the country.

Security sources said Camara died after a vehicle-borne explosive device detonated outside his residence in Kati, a heavily fortified town about 15 kilometres from Bamako, where interim President Assimi Goita and other junta leaders are based.

The attack, which occurred on Saturday, was part of a series of simultaneous assaults reportedly carried out by jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda and allied armed groups, including Tuareg rebels.

Witness accounts indicated that a suicide car bomber targeted the minister’s residence, triggering a powerful explosion that destroyed the building.

Camara, along with at least three members of his family, was reported killed in the blast.

The incident marks a major escalation in Mali’s security crisis, with multiple military positions said to have come under attack nationwide, including in Kati, long considered a stronghold of the ruling military authorities.

Camara was a key figure in Mali’s transitional government, which came to power following successive coups in 2020 and 2021.

Violence continued to intensify in other parts of the country. In northern Mali, fresh fighting was reported early Sunday in Kidal, a region that has remained a flashpoint in the country’s long-running conflict.

Amid the clashes, a spokesperson for the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, Mohamed Almaouloud Ramadane, said an agreement had been reached with Russian-linked forces to allow a withdrawal from active combat zones.

“Early this morning an agreement was reached between the Azadian forces and the Russian elements of the Africa corps to guarantee their safe withdrawal from fighting,” he said in a Facebook post.

“In other words, several fighters from the GATIA de Gamou led, in particular, by Salam Ag Abanassa, have malfunctioned.

“Finally, elements of the Malian army retrenched in the former MINUSMA camps are currently under sustained strikes aimed at forcing them to leave their bunkers.”

The latest developments highlight the growing complexity of Mali’s conflict, involving state forces, separatist groups, and foreign military elements, as insecurity deepens across the country.