“For Russia, the attack was a disaster.” Blow at the top of the government allied with Moscow

Mali's Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an attack on his residence, the government said on Sunday, marking the deadliest day of coordinated attacks launched a day earlier by insurgents, including Al-Qaeda's West African affiliate.

An explosives-laden car driven by a suicide bomber drove into Camara's residence in the city of Kati, spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said in a statement read on state television.

A shootout ensued and Camara suffered injuries from which he later died in hospital, Coulibaly said, adding that Mali would observe two days of mourning.

The statement followed media reports earlier in the day, including Reuters, that Camara had been killed during the operation in Kati, about 15 km north of the capital Bamako, where the main army base is located.

Fights between Tuareg rebels backed by Al-Qaeda jihadists and the Malian army

Al-Qaeda's regional affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, cooperated with a Tuareg-dominated rebel group to carry out simultaneous attacks in more than six locations across the country, according to both groups.

The government has not provided a casualty count. On Sunday, Coulibaly expressed his condolences for “all civilian and military victims who died,” without specifying a number.

Analysts and diplomats described Saturday's insurgent operation as one of the biggest coordinated attacks in the country in years.

The United Nations has called for an international response to violence and terrorism in West Africa's Sahel region.

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations in Mali. He strongly condemns these acts of violence,” a UN spokesperson posted on X.

The unclear fate of the strategic city of Kidal

In addition to Kati, there were also attacks near Bamako airport on Saturday and in towns further north, including Mopti, Sevare and Gao.

The fate of the strategic town of Kidal, a former stronghold of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), the Tuareg-dominated group that collaborated with JNIM, was unclear on Sunday.

The FLA said in a statement that Kidal had fallen, and a spokesman for the group said on X that an agreement had been reached to allow Russian mercenaries to leave a besieged camp outside the city, where the Malian armed forces were.

But Malian army chief of staff General Oumar Diarra told public television on Sunday that the army had tactically repositioned forces in Kidal and that operations in the area were ongoing.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Germany-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the attack was a setback for Russia, which backed the military-led government after it drove out French, American and other Western forces.

“For Russia, the attack was a disaster,” Laessing said. “They failed to prevent the fall of the highly symbolic Tuareg stronghold of Kidal and now they have to leave this northern city,” Laessing said.

The promises of the government of Mali

Russian state broadcaster Vesti reported on Sunday that Russia's African Corps was repelling a large-scale militant attack on Mali's government.

According to Vesti, Russian personnel intervened alongside units of the Presidential Guard and the Malian armed forces, preventing the capture of the presidential palace.

Vesti noted that some members of Russia's African Corps were wounded, without giving further details.

Saturday's attacks are the latest sign that Mali's government has failed to provide greater security, despite promises to do so.

In September 2024, JNIM attacked a paramilitary police training school near Bamako airport, killing around 70 people. More recently, the group staged a fuel blockade that left residents and businesses in the capital without electricity and supplies.

The government has recently sought to tighten ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild security cooperation and explore opportunities in the mining sector.

Mali's foreign minister told Reuters on Monday that neighboring states and foreign powers were supporting the terrorist groups, but declined to name the countries.