Fresh Clashes Erupt in Mali’s Kati

(MENAFN) Fresh exchanges of gunfire erupted Saturday in Kati, the garrison town flanking the capital Bamako, just 24 hours after coordinated strikes rocked military installations across Mali in one of the country's most destabilizing outbreaks of violence in recent memory.

Residents confirmed the renewed clashes, which compounded an already volatile security landscape shaped by a brazen attack on the residence of Defense Minister Sadio Camara — including a strike on a nearby mosque — alongside the reignition of combat in the remote northern stronghold of Kidal.

Kati resident Zan Coulibaly described the tense atmosphere, stating that "warning shots were heard and the situation is now under control."

The international community moved swiftly to denounce the violence. The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United States Bureau of African Affairs all issued condemnations of the attacks.

By early Sunday, hostilities had flared anew in Kidal, confirmed Amadou Albert Maiga, a sitting member of the National Transitional Council. A communiqué issued by Mohamed Almaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, disclosed that a negotiated arrangement had been secured between Azawad forces and elements of the Russian Africa Corps, guaranteeing their safe exit from active combat zones. The same statement revealed that a number of fighters belonging to the GATIA group — commanded by Gen. El Hadj Ag Gamou — had switched sides, while Malian army positions occupying former UN mission camps remained under sustained assault aimed at dislodging troops from fortified positions.

In a development that sent shockwaves through the capital, French outlets Le Figaro and Jeune Afrique reported that Gen. Sadio Camara and several family members perished Saturday during the assault on his compound. No official Malian government source has confirmed or denied those claims.

Visible signs of an emergency security posture gripped Bamako through the night. Witnesses reported intensified activity around a private medical facility said to be treating a senior military officer whose identity has not been disclosed. Meanwhile, access to the headquarters of state broadcaster ORTM was sealed off, with barricades erected and a pronounced armed presence deployed. Security forces conducted sweeping patrols across multiple districts of the capital throughout Saturday night.

On a separate front, the Malian army reasserted its presence in Sevare, in the central Mopti region, where a local witness reported that armed men looted every bank in the town on Saturday, leaving scattered casualties along the streets before retreating to positions roughly 50 kilometers from the city limits.

Despite the ferocity and breadth of the offensive, armed groups failed to capture any military camp — a critical strategic objective that, thus far, has held.

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