Mali Defence Minister Killed in Attack as Violence Escalates

Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his residence at the Kati military base near the capital, Bamako. An al-Qaeda-linked group, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), claimed responsibility, according to media reports.

Violence continued on Sunday, with gunfire reported in a garrison town near the capital. The attacks follow one of the largest coordinated operations in recent years involving Islamist militants and Tuareg rebels. The rebels have claimed responsibility for assaults around Bamako, in gold-mining areas and in other parts of the country.

The United Nations has expressed grave concern over the developments and called for an international response to rising terrorism in the Sahel region. The number of casualties remains unclear, as does the situation in the town of Kidal, which rebels say they have recaptured.

Amid ongoing fighting between the Malian army and the Tuareg separatist Front de Liberation de l’Azawad (FLA), Russian Africa Corps units, which have supported the country’s military junta, have begun withdrawing from Bamako.

(reuters, sab)