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A Malian soldier is pictured during a training session in the camp of Sevare, Mopti region [File: Paul Lorgerie/Reuters]
By Nils Adler, Yashraj Sharma and Elis Gjevori
Published On 25 Apr 2026

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25 Apr 2026 - 17:00
 (17:00 GMT)

It’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the attacks in Mali.

To continue following developments, you can check out our up-to-date news story.

25 Apr 2026 - 16:55
 (16:55 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

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Here are some of the day’s top developments:

  • Gunmen have attacked several locations in Mali, including the capital, Bamako and nearby Kati, as well as Gao and Kidal in the north, and the central city of Sevare.
  • Mali’s army said in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers”. In a later statement, the army said the situation was under control.
  • Assimi Goita, the head of the military government, has yet to make a public statement.

  • The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the US Bureau of African Affairs have condemned the attacks throughout Mali.

  • Analysts have described the scale and coordination of the assault as “unprecedented”.

25 Apr 2026 - 16:40
 (16:40 GMT)
Analysis

Urban attacks mark ‘major threat’

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy director for the Sahel at the International Crisis Group, says today’s assault poses a “major threat” to the Malian military authorities.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said that armed groups have long been “operating in rural areas and peripheral zones”.

“The fact that now they are shifting their battles to urban areas poses a major threat,” said Ibrahim, adding that since 2022, the number of attacks targeting urban areas in Mali – but also in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger – had been on the rise.

25 Apr 2026 - 16:15
 (16:15 GMT)
Analysis

Mali offensive signals rising sophistication of armed groups

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy director for the Sahel at the International Crisis Group, says Malian authorities appear to have been caught off-guard by the latest wave of attacks.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Dakar, Senegal, he said the offensive fits into a broader pattern of escalating violence.

“Even though it is hard to say that it is totally a surprise, I think it is just another dramatic episode in a series of spectacular attacks that we have witnessed in recent years by JNIM attacking the government.”

He described the scale and coordination of the assault as highly unusual.

Calling the attack “unprecedented” in terms of magnitude, Ibrahim highlighted the simultaneous offensive on “at least six major urban centres”, including Bamako, Kati, Gao and Kidal.

While there has been no official claim of responsibility yet by JNIM, Ibrahim said the group’s apparent ability to launch simultaneous attacks across multiple locations pointed to growing capacity.

“Now the group’s ability to coordinate simultaneous attack in this different location is really a show of force, of course, and it shows a significant, organisational sophistication, but also expanding operational reach.”

25 Apr 2026 - 16:00
 (16:00 GMT)

Video shows armed men storming Kidal governor’s office

Videos posted online and verified by Al Jazeera show armed men inside the Kidal governor’s office, with others moving around the area in vehicles:

25 Apr 2026 - 15:45
 (15:45 GMT)

OIC condemns Mali attacks, expresses ‘full solidarity’

In a statement, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha said he is following “with great concern the military operations” that have targeted Bamako and other regions of Mali.

The statement said the OIC head “strongly condemned” the attacks @which seriously endanger the lives of civilians and threaten peace, security, and stability”.

It added that the OIC remains committed to “restoring peace, security, and stability” in Mali and expressed its “full solidarity with the Malian people”.

25 Apr 2026 - 15:30
 (15:30 GMT)

Mali: A recent timeline

Let’s take a closer look at the situation in Mali in recent years:

  • In August 2020, a coup overthrows President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita after months of mass protests.
  • Nine months later, in May 2021, Colonel Assimi Goita, the leader of the previous year’s power grab and vice president of the interim government, seizes power in a second coup.
  • In December 2021, Russian mercenaries arrived to support the military administration in its fight against armed groups.
  • In May 2022, the ruling military announced it was breaking its defence accords with former colonial ruler France
  • In January 2024, authorities terminate the 2015 peace deal with Tuareg rebels in the north, accusing them of not complying with the agreement.
  • In July 2025, Mali’s military authorities grant Goita a five-year presidential mandate, renewable “as many times as necessary” and without requiring an election.
  • In September 2026, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) armed group begins a fuel imports blockade that cripples life in Bamako.
25 Apr 2026 - 15:15
 (15:15 GMT)

Russians in Mali: Who is the Africa Corps?

In June last year, Russia’s Wagner group said it will withdraw from Mali after more than three and a half years on the ground.

The paramilitary force said it had successfully completed its mission against armed groups in the country.

But Wagner’s withdrawal from Mali did not mean the departure of Russian fighters. Russian mercenaries remained under the banner of the Africa Corps, a separate Kremlin-backed paramilitary group created after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian military in June 2023.

Besides Mali, Africa Corps is also active in other African countries, including Equatorial Guinea ⁠and the Central African Republic.

Read more here.

People in Moscow pay tribute to Wagner mercenaries killed in Mali, August 4, 2024 [File: Yulia Morozova/Reuters]
25 Apr 2026 - 15:00
 (15:00 GMT)
25 Apr 2026 - 14:45
 (14:45 GMT)

African Union voices ‘deep concern’ over Mali violence

The African Union (AU) has condemned the armed attacks across Mali, warning of the threat to civilians and stability.

AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf is closely following developments after the reported attacks in Bamako and other cities, the bloc said in a statement.

The violence risks “exposing civilian populations to significant harm”, Youssouf was quoted as saying by the statement, while reaffirming the AU’s commitment to “the promotion of peace, security, good governance and stability in Mali”.

He also expressed “full solidarity with the people of Mali, the security forces and the national authorities”.

25 Apr 2026 - 14:30
 (14:30 GMT)

US condemns Mali attacks

The US Bureau of African Affairs has condemned “today’s terrorist attack in Mali”.

In a post on social media, it said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims, their families, and all those affected, and we stand with the Malian people and government in the face of this violence.”

It added: “The United States remains committed to supporting efforts to advance peace, stability, and security across Mali and the region.”

25 Apr 2026 - 14:15
 (14:15 GMT)

Photos: Smoke rises in Kidal

Smoke rises as armed members of an unidentified group gather in Kidal [Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane/Screengrab via Reuters]
Armed members of an unidentified group in Kidal [Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane/Screengrab via Reuters]

25 Apr 2026 - 14:00
 (14:00 GMT)

Mali faces escalating violence

By Nicolas Haque

It definitely seems that the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), the Tuareg armed group that has been active for a number of years, is gaining ground, certainly in the north of the country.

There’s video footage circulating on social media showing some of these fighters entering the residence of the governor of Kidal.

Kidal is not the biggest town in the north but it’s high in symbolism because whoever holds the town of Kidal controls the north.

There are street running battles happening in and around Kidal, this is where the Russian mercenary group, the Africa Corps, are located, so are Malian forces.

But this isn’t just happening in the north.

There’s also fighting in the central town of Sevare and running battles near the airport in Bamako; then near the garrison town of Kati, where Goita’s residence is located.

Goita and the defence minister have not made an appearance, but there have been statements made by the government of Mali, including one a few hours ago that they have the situation under control.

But we just spoke to some of the residents of Bamako, who said they see people running in all directions.

25 Apr 2026 - 13:45
 (13:45 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Gunmen have attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities in what is seen as a coordinated assault.
  • Mali’s army said in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers”.
  • In a later statement, the army said the situation was under control.
  • Fighting has been reported around Bamako, at Gao and Kidal in the north, and in the central city of Sevare.
  • Heavy gunfire has been reported in Kati, a town near Bamako that is home to Mali’s main military base. General Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military government, also lives in Kati.
  • A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad separatist movement has said its forces had taken control of Kidal and some areas in Gao. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claim.
25 Apr 2026 - 13:30
 (13:30 GMT)

Defence minister’s house in Kati targeted in attack, residents say

Residents in Kati, near Bamako, have said the house of Defence Minister General Sadio Camara was targeted earlier today.

Two witnesses quoted by Reuters said Camara’s house was hit and destroyed, while residents quoted by AFP said a powerful explosion had destroyed most of it.

Camara’s entourage said he was not present at the time and was “safe”, AFP reported.

25 Apr 2026 - 13:15
 (13:15 GMT)
Explainer

What is Azawad?

Azawad is the name given to northern Mali by Tuareg separatists, who have been fighting for years to create the state of Azawad in the region.

In 2012, ethnic Taureg separatists, allied with fighters from an al-Qaeda offshoot, launched a rebellion that took control of the country’s north.

But the armed group fighters swiftly pushed over the Tuareg rebels and seized key northern cities until they were driven out in early 2013 by French troops, together with Malian forces and soldiers from other African countries under the African-led International Support Mission to Mali banner.

In 2015, a UN-backed peace deal between the government in Bamako and northern groups fighting for Azawad promised decentralisation, but implementation has stalled.

25 Apr 2026 - 13:00
 (13:00 GMT)
Analysis

‘There is no military solution’

Indications that different armed groups have launched a coordinated attack in Mali signal a “very dangerous development”, according to Ulf Laessing, Sahel analyst at the German think tank, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

He told Al Jazeera that since the crisis began in 2012, security has been “degrading” every year, and the government has little control over large areas of the country.

Mali is “a vast territory, twice the size of France, most people live in the south, the north is desert and mountains … it’s impossible to control it, not even the French could do it, let alone the Russians”, he said.

“There’s no military solution”, and armed groups are “entrenched” in the countryside.

“The only good news is, so far, they [armed groups] haven’t been able to control … larger cities,” he said.

25 Apr 2026 - 12:45
 (12:45 GMT)

Kidal, parts of Gao fallen, claims FLA spokesperson

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-dominated rebel alliance, has said in a Facebook post its forces “control the entire city” of Kidal and are continuing operations”.

“In Gao, our forces are now present inside the city, after having neutralised several positions located on the outskirts,” he added, noting that “operations are continuing.”

Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.

The FLA spokesperson also called on “authorities of Burkina Faso and Niger to stay out of the ongoing events in Mali”.

25 Apr 2026 - 12:30
 (12:30 GMT)

Video shows Azawad fighters entering Kidal camp

A video posted online and verified by Al Jazeera shows armed men from the Azawad Liberation Front entering the National Youth Camp of Kidal earlier today – watch it below:

25 Apr 2026 - 12:20
 (12:20 GMT)

Where have attacks been reported?

Sources have told Al Jazeera that the towns of Kidal, Gao and Sevare have come under coordinated attacks.

Fighting has also been reported in the capital, Bamako, and in a nearby garrison.