Khaberni - Clashes resumed today, Sunday, between fighters and the Malian army in the city of Kati - the stronghold of the ruling military council - near the capital Bamako, while Defense Minister General Sadio Camara was killed in an attack at his home near Bamako.
Sources for Al Jazeera and the French Press Agency reported that the Malian Defense Minister was killed in coordinated attacks targeting military sites across the country, one day after his home in the city of Kati was attacked.
The French Press Agency quoted a family member of Camara as saying: "In the Kati attack, Minister Camara was killed along with his second wife and two young children."
A government source said: "We have lost a very dear person, the Defense Minister, who fell on the field of honor."
Kati, which houses a military garrison, was among the areas attacked yesterday, Saturday, by gunmen from the "Support of Islam and Muslims" group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and allied with the Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front.
A resident of the city told the French Press Agency "The fighting resumed this morning, almost everywhere. The jihadis are near the hill" overlooking Kati. Another resident said "aircraft also entered the battle".
Today, Sunday, the Tuareg rebels announced reaching an "agreement" that results in the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from "Africa Corps" from the city of Kidal in northern Mali, which they said they now completely control.
A leader of the rebels told the French Press Agency "An agreement has been reached allowing the army and its allies in Africa Corps to leave camp number 2, where they have been fortified since yesterday", adding that the city of Kidal is now completely under their control.
A resident of Kidal said "We saw a military convoy leave, but we do not know the details of the situation. Armed movement fighters are now deployed in the streets."
In contrast, the Malian government said in a statement last night, Saturday, that the attacks caused injuries to 16 civilians and military personnel and "limited material damage", adding that "the situation is completely under control in all areas that were attacked".
But Mohamed Ramadan, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front, told the French Press Agency "The fighting resumed in Kidal this morning. We are trying to expel the last of the Russian fighters who have taken refuge in the camp".
Unprecedented attacks
The Azawad Liberation Front said, in a statement yesterday, Saturday, "Only a small pocket of resistance remains, consisting of Russian mercenaries from Africa Corps and a few Malian soldiers fortified" in an old camp.
The front, which seeks to establish a state in the Azawad region of northern Mali, yesterday, Saturday, confirmed that it controls Kidal after battles in the city, which was one of the cities targeted by coordinated attacks by the Tuareg rebels and the "Support of Islam and Muslims" group linked to Al-Qaeda.
Mali has faced a Tuareg and extremist insurgency for more than a decade, but the attacks that began yesterday, Saturday, are unprecedented since a military council took power by coup in 2020.
Battles erupted since dawn yesterday, Saturday, and continued intensely throughout the day on the outskirts of Bamako and in several cities across Mali, including Kidal, Gao, and Sevare.
The Support of Islam and Muslims group, which has been fighting for years against the army, spoke of a "victory", describing it as the result of hard work and coordination with "its partners" and "active participation from our brothers in the Azawad Liberation Front".
The group, in a statement in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the attacks, yesterday, Saturday, that targeted "the residence of Malian President Assimi Goita", "the residence of Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara", "the Modibo Keita Airport in the capital", and "the military sites in the city of Kati" near Bamako.
In January 2024, the ruling military council in Mali announced the immediate termination of the peace agreement signed in 2015 in Algeria with the northern separatist groups.
In September 2024, the "Support of Islam and Muslims" group claimed responsibility for a double attack targeting the military airport in Bamako and the gendarmerie school, which resulted in more than 70 deaths and 200 injuries, according to security sources.
