Post by : Bianca
Haleem
Early on Saturday, coordinated assaults by gunmen erupted across Mali, striking the capital Bamako and other significant cities. Responding security forces reported heavy gunfire and explosions.
The Malian military confirmed that unidentified armed groups had targeted vital sites, including barracks in Bamako. One of the areas hit was near Modibo Keita International Airport, where locals and journalists reported ongoing gunfire and helicopter activity, close to a military base.
Immediate military deployment aimed to counter and eliminate the attackers, according to security sources.
Violence was also reported in other regions of the country. In Kati—a town housing Mali’s main military base—residents experienced heavy gunfire and explosions shortly after dawn.
In the northeastern cities of Kidal and Gao, witnesses described fierce clashes, gunfire, and blasts. A former mayor from Kidal noted that armed groups engaged with government forces in parts of the city, while the intensity of explosions in Gao caused panic among residents.
An Azawad Liberation Front spokesperson claimed on social media that they had seized control of several regions in Kidal and Gao, though this assertion remains unverified.
The United States Embassy in Bamako issued a security notice, confirming the reports of violence and advising American citizens to stay indoors and avoid travel.
Mali has been grappling with persistent violence tied to groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State, alongside an ongoing separatist movement in the north. Efforts by international and regional entities have not halted the deteriorating security situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
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