Insurgents attack military bases across Mali, closing main airport

Insurgents launched attacks across Mali early on Saturday, with the army later saying it had regained control as the military-led government faced one of the biggest operations against it in a long battle with affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State.

A U.N. security note reported "simultaneous complex attacks" in Kati and near the airport in the capital Bamako, as well as in cities and towns further north in the West African, gold-producing country, including Mopti, Gao and Kidal.

"There's gunfire everywhere," a witness in the central town of Sevare said as the U.S. embassy urged its citizens to shelter in place and Britons were advised against travel to Mali, where the army said it had been attacked by unidentified "terrorist" groups in multiple places.

South of Bamako, people attempting to access the airport found themselves almost inside the combat zone, with heavy gunfire nearby and helicopters overhead, one passenger said.

Two explosions and sustained gunfire were heard shortly before 6 a.m. (0600 GMT) near the main military base Kati, north of Bamako, and shots were still ringing out there more than four hours later, a Reuters witness and two residents said.

Two witnesses said Defence Minister Sadio Camara's house in Kati was destroyed in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from West African al Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which frequently attacks military installations.

But four security sources told Reuters the group was involved and appeared to have coordinated with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-dominated rebel alliance that claimed responsibility for operations in Gao and Kidal.

Spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said on social media FLA forces had taken control of positions in Gao and one of two military camps in Kidal. Reuters could not independently verify his claims.

Mali, which like other countries in the Sahel region has faced Islamic insurgencies, is also grappling with a much longer history of Tuareg-led rebellion in its north.

Mali's government, headed by Assimi Goita, took power after coups in 2020 and 2021 with a pledge to restore security, but has so far struggled to do so.

Although Mali's army said shortly after 11 a.m. that the situation was under control, a resident of Gao - a major military hub in the north - said that at around 12 p.m. a loud explosion had been heard and that soldiers and attackers continued to exchange fire in the streets. 

'BIGGEST COORDINATED ATTACK FOR YEARS'

Saturday's attacks signal a potential escalation in the insurgency, which began in 2012.

"This looks like the biggest coordinated attack for years," said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Heni Nsaibia, senior West Africa analyst at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, highlighted the significance of Saturday's targets, including Kati and Bamako which lie "at the heart of the regime" and Kidal, the site of a symbolic military victory in 2023 that has been central to the government's "narrative of regaining territorial control".

In September 2024, JNIM attacked a gendarmerie training school near the Bamako airport, killing some 70 people.

A year later, it announced a blockade on fuel imports and has attacked fuel tankers under military escort in the south and west of Mali, showing its ability to operate in regions where it had not previously done so.

Goita's government, which has leant on Russian mercenaries for support while initially spurning cooperation with Western countries, has recently pursued closer ties with Washington.

Mali's foreign minister told Reuters on Monday that neighbouring countries were supporting terrorist groups. He declined to name which neighbours and added, without evidence, that foreign powers outside the region were also involved.