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Mali Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his residence at the Kati military base outside Bamako, France’s RFI radio reported Sunday, citing an assault by the al-Qaida-linked group.
Jeune Afrique also reported that Camara was killed in the Saturday attack near the capital, citing security sources. No Malian official source has confirmed the report.
Mali government spokesperson Issa Coulibaly said 16 people were wounded in attacks on military facilities in several cities.
The attacks were carried out by an al-Qaida-linked group and the Azawad Liberation Front, according to the government.
On Saturday morning, an al-Qaeda-linked group and Tuareg members under the Azawad Liberation Front launched coordinated attacks on garrisons in Bamako and the towns of Kati, Sevare, Gao and Kidal.
Mali’s General Staff later said the situation in those towns was under control.
According to Jeune Afrique, Camara was killed in an attack on his home in Kati on April 25.
The report said the attack, attributed to an al-Qaida-linked group, was carried out with a vehicle bomb used by a suicide attacker.
The explosion reportedly destroyed the defense minister’s residence.
RFI reported that Camara was killed in an attack by an al-Qaida-linked group on his residence at the Kati military base outside Bamako.
Fighting resumed Saturday in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako, sources and residents said.
Zan Coulibaly, a Kati resident, said: “Warning shots were heard, and the situation is now under control.”
In northern Mali, fighting resumed early Sunday in Kidal, according to Amadou Albert Maiga, a member of the National Transitional Council.
A statement from Mohamed Almaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, said an agreement had been reached between Azawad forces and elements of the Russian Africa Corps to ensure their safe withdrawal from the fighting.
The statement also said several members from the GATIA group, led by Gen. El Hadj Ag Gamou, had defected.
It added that Malian army positions in former U.N. mission camps were under sustained fire aimed at forcing troops out of their bunkers.
Mali’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that 16 people, including military personnel and civilians, were wounded in the attacks.
“Unfortunately, as a result of these terrorist attacks, 16 people, both military personnel and civilians, were injured. The injured are currently receiving medical treatment. Material damage is also limited,” the ministry said.
The statement did not report any deaths.
The attacks were condemned by the African Union, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the U.S. Bureau of African Affairs.
Security was tightened in Bamako, particularly around a private clinic where witnesses said a senior military officer was receiving treatment. The officer’s identity was not disclosed.
Access around the headquarters of state broadcaster ORTM was also restricted, with barricades and a heavy security presence.
Security forces conducted patrols throughout Saturday night across several neighborhoods of the capital.
Separately, the Malian army returned to the town of Sevare in the Mopti region.
A witness in Mopti said all banks in the town were looted by armed men Saturday.
The witness said there were corpses in the streets and that the attackers had withdrawn to about 50 kilometers from the city.
Despite widespread chaos and looting, members were not able to seize military camps despite violent and intense fighting.
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