The Malian armed forces have contained "desperate attempts by terrorists from Katiba Macina", affiliated with the jihadist group Al-Qaeda, "who, early this morning, at around 05:00 (local and GMT) attempted kamikaze actions with two vehicles trapped full of explosives against an installation of the direction of the material, hydrocarbons and transport of the armies", declared the General staff of the Malian armies in a press release.
The provisional toll of this attack is one Malian soldier killed and six wounded, including a civilian, and 7 assailants "neutralized", 8 arrested and a lot of material recovered, the statement continued.
This attack came the day after a series of almost simultaneous raids attributed to jihadists in six different localities in Mali, in the regions of Koulikoro (near Bamako) as well as Ségou and Mopti (center). Three Malian soldiers were killed, according to the army.
The American embassy condemned "in the strongest terms" these multiple armed attacks. Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union commission, said for his part that he encouraged "all the efforts undertaken to restore security and the success of the transition in the interest of the Malian people".
Very early on, several residents told AFP of an "attack" targeting the Kati base. "We were woken up by gunshots at 5 a.m. and the sound of explosions," said a resident on condition of anonymity.
The helicopters flying over the military base after the attack landed at midday. At the same time, the authorities called on the population to calm down, ensuring that the situation was under control.
Never has the strategic base of Kati, located only about fifteen kilometers from Bamako, been directly targeted by a jihadist attack.
The current military authorities took power by force on August 18, 2020 in Kati, before "descending" to Bamako.
It is also in Kati - where Colonel Assimi Goïta, president of the transition and his powerful Minister of Defense, Colonel Sadio Camara - reside that the personalities arrested during the coups are systematically retained.
Despite a very degraded security situation, the junta turned away from France and its partners, preferring to rely on Russia to try to stem the jihadist spread which has spread to a large part of the country as well as Burkina Faso. and neighboring Niger.
- Coordinated attacks -
This is the first time since 2012 that such coordinated attacks have taken place so close to the capital, in the middle of the rainy season.
But the frequency of attacks targeting regions of southern Mali, previously spared, has increased for several months.
Mali, a landlocked country in the heart of the Sahel, has been caught in a spiral of multifaceted violence for ten years.
First in the grip of a conflict with separatist rebel groups, which have since signed a peace agreement in 2015, the country faces a multitude of armed groups affiliated with global jihadist nebulae.
The main coalition is the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM, JNIM in Arabic), affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The GSIM, whose influence on the ground continues to expand, includes a myriad of groups including the Katiba Macina and operates mainly in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Added to the incessant violence is a tense political situation between the junta and its Western and regional partners, tinged with repeated diplomatic hiccups, particularly with France, pushed towards exit in early 2022 after nine years of military presence in the country, via Operation Serval then Barkhane.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) harshly sanctioned Mali for six months for failing to respect its commitments, particularly on the sensitive issue of the return of civilians to power.
The economic and financial sanctions were finally lifted in early July after the presentation of an electoral calendar setting the next presidential election in February 2024.
The ECOWAS mediator, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, was in Bamako on Friday where he encouraged the junta leader for his efforts against terrorism. He has also said so far "satisfied" with the ongoing transition process, according to a statement from the Malian presidency.
