Mali's Defence Minister Sadio Camara was feared dead on Sunday after militants linked to Al Qaeda staged one of their largest attacks in years.
An Al Qaeda affiliate called JNIM and a group of nomadic rebels claimed responsibility for co-ordinated attacks around the capital Bamako, in gold-producing areas and elsewhere across Mali.
Sustained gunfire rang out in a garrison town near Bamako on Sunday, witnesses said, suggesting fighting had resumed for a second day despite the army saying it had reasserted control.
The number of deaths and injuries had not been established on Sunday, nor had the fate of the contested city of Kidal, which the insurgents claimed to have captured from government forces. Several reports said Mr Camara had been killed after an explosion at his home.
Terrorism experts have long warned that groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda see opportunities in West Africa, where many countries have unstable governments and western powers such as the US and France have reduced their presence.
Malian government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said 16 people had been injured but the situation was under control in all areas under attack. An overnight curfew lasting three days in is place. But the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a rebel group dominated by the nomadic Tuareg people, said on Sunday it had regained control of Kidal. The Tuaregs have been involved in uprisings against the government in Mali for decades.
An FLA spokesman said a deal had been struck to allow Russian mercenaries to leave a besieged camp outside the city, where Malian armed forces were still entrenched. Claiming responsibility on Saturday, the FLA said it had carried out the wide-scale operation alongside the Al Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).
JNIM also claimed responsibility for attacks in Kati, on Modibo Keita Airport in Bamako and in areas further north, including Mopti, Sevare and Gao.
The UN has called for an international response to violence in West Africa. “The Secretary General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali,” a spokesman said.
The violence is the latest sign that Mali's government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, is struggling to deliver greater security after kicking out western forces and turning to Russia for help instead.
In September 2024, JNIM attacked a gendarmerie training school near the airport in Bamako, killing about 70. More recently, it carried out an effective blockade on fuel imports that has starved the capital's residents and businesses of power and supplies.
The government led by President Assimi Goita has recently pursued closer ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild co-operation on security and explore mining opportunities.
Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's Foreign Minister, told Reuters that neighbouring states and foreign powers were supporting terrorist groups but declined to name the countries.
