Coordinated attacks target military barracks in Bamako, Gao, Kidal, and Sévaré in what experts call an unprecedented assault on Mali’s junta-led government.
Militants launched sweeping, coordinated attacks on Mali’s capital, Bamako, and at least three other cities on Saturday, April 25, 2026. They struck military installations as the army scrambled to contain what analysts call an unprecedented attack on the junta.
The Malian army confirmed in a statement that “terrorist groups, not yet identified,” targeted barracks and strategic positions across the country shortly before 6 a.m. local time.
Soldiers were immediately deployed to seal roads. The army urged the civilian population to remain calm as fighting continued.
Explosions and sustained gunfire erupted near Kati, Mali’s main military base just outside Bamako, the residence of military ruler General Assimi Goïta.
Simultaneously, unrest broke out in Sévaré in central Mali, and in the northern cities of Gao and Kidal, suggesting careful planning across vast distances.
A witness in Sévaré captured the chaos in one chilling sentence to Reuters: “There’s gunfire everywhere.”
Who is behind the attacks?
No group has formally claimed responsibility as of Saturday morning. However, four security sources told France 24 that JNIM, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the regional al-Qaeda affiliate, was involved.
Additionally, Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane claimed on social media that its Tuareg-dominated rebel forces seized positions in Kidal and Gao, though this could not be independently verified.
Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who has extensively covered Mali, said:
“The scale and coordination of the attacks appear to be unprecedented,” adding there is “an unprecedented level of panic in the military ranks.”
A nation already on the edge
Mali has grappled with a security crisis since 2012, when Tuareg-led rebellions opened the door to jihadist insurgencies.
Following military coups in 2020 and 2021, General Goïta’s government expelled French forces and UN peacekeeping missions, leaning instead on Russian mercenaries.
In July 2025, Goïta secured a five-year presidential mandate, renewable without elections. France 24’s jihadism specialist Wassim Nasr noted it is “too soon to tell” if the junta will fall.
What happens next
Reuters reported in March 2026 that Mali and the United States were nearing an intelligence-sharing deal. Saturday’s strikes represent the gravest single-day security challenge to the junta since it seized power.
If JNIM and rebel factions have united in a simultaneous offensive, it signals a dangerous new phase in the Sahel’s long war, one that threatens not just Mali’s rulers but an entire region already buckling under a decade of conflict.
