Suspected Militants fighters launched a series of coordinated attacks on military positions across western Mali in the early hours of Tuesday, targeting at least seven locations, including an army camp in the strategic city of Kayes, near the border with Senegal.
The Malian Armed Forces confirmed the assaults in a statement, describing them as “coordinated attacks carried out very early this morning.” The army added that the situation is being monitored closely, with further updates to follow.
According to local residents and officials, the attacks affected several towns, including Nioro, Sandaré, Gogui, and Diboli. The city of Kayes, one of the most significant urban centres in the region, came under intense gunfire, with witnesses reporting plumes of smoke rising near the governor’s residence.
“We woke up in shock this morning. There’s gunfire, and from my house I can see smoke billowing towards the governor’s residence,” a Kayes resident told AFP. Another resident said they were sheltering indoors while the assault continued.
A military source confirmed that an explosion was first heard near the governor’s residence, followed by an armed attack on the military camp. A local politician, Sekou Niame Bathily, corroborated the reports on Facebook, writing that the Nioro region had “woken up in shock” due to simultaneous assaults.
This marks the latest in a series of escalating attacks by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, who have waged a relentless insurgency in Mali for over a decade. In early June, a coordinated attack targeted an army base and airport in Timbuktu, just one day after at least 30 soldiers were killed in a central Mali ambush.
Violence has also intensified across the broader Sahel region, with militants stepping up operations in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. The military juntas in all three countries had vowed to make security their top priority after seizing power, but their forces continue to struggle to contain the jihadist threat.
The rising insecurity now poses an increasing risk to coastal West African nations as the militants push southward.
