As the security crisis across the Sahel continues to rapidly deteriorate, suspected gunmen launched a series of coordinated attacks across multiple cities in Mali early Saturday morning. Heavy weapons and automatic gunfire erupted near the Modibo Keïta International Airport and an adjacent military base in the capital, Bamako. The strikes come amid the collapse of a 2015 peace deal with northern separatists and show escalating instability following the military junta’s recent pivot to Russian support.
The Malian army released a statement early Saturday confirming its forces are “currently engaged in eliminating the attackers.”
The violent incursions were not contained to the capital. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the separatist Azawad Liberation Front, claimed on social media that their forces seized control of several neighborhoods in the northeastern cities of Kidal and Gao.
Journalists on the ground confirmed active heavy weapons fire early Saturday, according to an Associated Press report verifying the coordinated early Saturday attacks across Bamako, Kidal, and Gao.
The U.S. Embassy in Bamako reacted immediately to the escalating violence by issuing a U.S. Embassy security alert advising citizens to shelter in place near Kati and the Modibo Keïta International Airport.
The Breakdown of the 2015 Peace Agreement
The geographic spread of Saturday’s assault indicates a significant operational escalation by separatist and extremist forces. This widespread violence is a direct consequence of the shattered 2015 peace agreement between the central government and northern Tuareg rebels.
The coordinated strikes echo a similar, devastating attack in 2024 when an al-Qaida-linked group assaulted Bamako’s airport and a nearby military training facility.
Despite the ruling juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso severing defense ties with Western allies to rely heavily on Russian military assistance, regional militant attacks have reached record highs.