Coordinated Attacks Shake Mali as Fighting Continues and Prison Near Bamako Comes Under Attack
Mali was struck early on Saturday by a series of coordinated attacks targeting several areas across the country, including the Kéniéroba prison, located approximately 70 kilometers from the capital, Bamako.
The information was confirmed by the Malian army, security sources, and local residents speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
According to the sources, the fighting began at around 4:00 a.m. local time (GMT) and was still ongoing.
The attacks targeted the northern towns of Gao, Aguelhok, and Anéfis, as well as Sévaré in central Mali.
Mohamed El Mouloud Ramadan, spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front, told AFP that the group’s forces had entered the town of Anéfis, adding: “Several positions have fallen, but fighting is still continuing inside the town.”
A local resident also told AFP by telephone: “Armed groups are inside the town, but the army is still resisting, and the military camp has not yet fallen.”
Anéfis and Aguelhok are the last two locations where the Malian army still maintains a presence in the Kidal region following the attacks of April 25 and 26.
During those offensives, the strategic northern city of Kidal fell under the control of the Azawad Liberation Front, in what was widely described as a major setback for the country’s ruling military junta.
In Gao, residents told AFP they heard sustained gunfire and “powerful explosions” near an army camp.
A security source also told AFP that “explosions were heard around 5:00 a.m.” in the central city of Sévaré, “although their source has not yet been identified,” adding that several aircraft were later seen flying over the area.
The attacks also extended to the main prison complex in Kéniéroba, which houses individuals convicted of terrorism-related offenses and is located a few dozen kilometers from Bamako.
One inmate told AFP by telephone: “We are hiding under our beds, and the gunfire is continuing.”
The attacks come more than two months after large-scale offensives carried out in late April by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization, together with separatist forces from the Azawad Liberation Front.
On May 16, the United Nations Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms” the attacks that targeted several locations across Mali on April 25 and 26 and in the days that followed. The Council called for those responsible, including the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and supporters, to be identified, brought to justice, and held accountable.
According to a Security Council statement, Mali has experienced persistent instability since the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims formed an alliance with rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front in April to attack positions held by the ruling military junta. Since 2021, the country has faced a worsening security crisis driven by violence linked to Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), separatist movements, and local organized criminal networks.
