Joe Bright
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said about 12,000 militants attempted a coup that it helped repel.
The attacks this weekend were carried out by the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group and Tuareg separatist rebels.
The groups launched an offensive that experts say is unprecedented on at least six cities, including the capital, Bamako.
They also attacked a town just north of the capital where the military junta resides, killing Mali's defense minister,
and injuring another senior government official.
The whereabouts of Mali's military leader, Asimi Goita, is unknown.
Former Russian mercenaries now embedded in the Russian defense forces are also fighting alongside Mali's army.
On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry said about 12,000 militants attempted a coup that it helped repel.
General Sadio Kamara was killed alongside his second wife and two of his grandchildren when a suicide car bomb was detonated at his home in the town of Kati, near Mali's capital Bamako.
The attack was carried out by the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group and Tuareg Azawad rebels who were currently engaged in a major operation targeting government buildings and military installations across several cities in Mali.
Kamara was a central figure in Mali's military junta
and was widely seen as a future leader of the country.
Other senior Malian junta officials have reportedly gone into hiding amid the attacks, including military ruler Asimi Goita, who officials say is alive and is in a secured location.
Nigerian authorities say the attack occurred in the early hours of Friday at the St.
Mary's Catholic School in Papiri.
A massive search and rescue operation is now underway.
Local authorities have accused the school of ignoring an order from the government to close all boarding facilities in the area amid intelligence warnings of a heightened risk of abductions.