🔴 Mali Defence Minister Sadio Camara killed in al Qaeda‑linked attack near Bamako, RFI reports
Tuareg rebels fighting Mali's army on Sunday announced an agreement allowing Russian Africa Corps forces to withdraw from Kidal, leaving the northern town "totally" under their control. Jihadist fighters coordinating with Tuareg rebels killed the junta's Defence Minister General Sadio Camara with a car bomb near the capital Bamako, his family and military sources confirmed Sunday.
Issued on: 26/04/2026 - 09:52Modified: 26/04/2026 - 14:53
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Fresh fighting erupted Sunday in the key Malian town of Kidal between Tuareg rebels backed by jihadists and government forces supported by Russian mercenaries, a day after insurgents launched coordinated strikes across the restive Sahel nation.
Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) on Sunday announced a deal for a Russian withdrawal from Kidal.
"An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday," a Tuareg official told AFP.
A Kidal resident told AFP: "We saw a military convoy leave, but don't know the details of what's happening... Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets."
The Africa Corps, an organisation under direct control of the Russian defence ministry, largely took over the Africa operations of the Wagner Group following the 2023 death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The group has been helping the Malian junta fight jihadists in the West African nation.
Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army backed by Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of control by rebels.
The FLA also claims to have taken positions in the northern Gao region.
"The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol," a security source told AFP on Sunday.
Defence minister killed in attack near Bamako
Jihadist fighters killed the Mali junta's defence minister, General Sadio Camara, with a car bomb left outside his residence near the capital Bamako, his family and government and military sources said Sunday.
The attack was staged on Saturday when jihadist and rebel groups launched coordinated attacks across the African nation including on the junta stronghold at Kati near the capital. Camara and other junta leaders live in Kati.
A relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the minister and at least three members of his family were killed by the car bomb left by a group affiliated to al Qaeda.
Fighting also broke out Sunday in Kati, the stronghold of Mali's ruling junta near the capital Bamako, residents said.
One resident said fighting had resumed "everywhere" in the garrison town and that the "jihadists are on a hill" above Kati. Another resident said planes were flying over the town.
Mali has been ravaged for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence but Saturday's attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power.
They took place on the fringes of the Malian capital Bamako and in several towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel nation.
Residents on edge
The fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers wounded and caused "limited material damage", the government said in a statement on Saturday evening.
It added that "the situation is totally under control in all the localities" that were attacked.
Read moreJihadist and Tuareg rebels claim attacks across Mali
In Bamako, soldiers were stationed Sunday morning around a clinic in the city where Defence Minister Sadio Camara was admitted the previous day, according to a medical source and witnesses.
According to residents, the minister's residence in Kati, a neighbouring town of Bamako and a stronghold of the ruling junta, was largely destroyed by a powerful explosion.
Camara's aides denied he was wounded.
In the capital, access to military facilities has been blocked by barriers and tyres on the roads, an AFP journalist said.
In the outlying district of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was jittery.
"I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It's traumatising," a resident said.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned "acts of violence" in Mali.
"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali," his spokesman said in a statement.
"The Secretary-General calls for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to meet urgent humanitarian needs," spokesman Stephane Dujarric added.
Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals.
Mali's rulers, like their military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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