Mali Mourns Defence Minister After Claiming 200+ Attackers Killed

Colonel Sadio Camara, at the Malian Ministry of Defence in Bamako on August 19, 2020. (Photo by Malik KONATE / AFP)

BAMAKO, Mali – Mali’s military junta claims security forces killed more than 200 attackers during coordinated insurgent attacks, as the country mourns the assassination of Defense Minister General Sadio Camara.

Camara died on April 25, 2026, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at his residence in Kati, near Bamako.

Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly confirmed the death on state television, describing the incident as part of wider attacks carried out by militants linked to al-Qaeda, belonging to Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), and allied Tuareg separatist rebels. The attacks targeted multiple military installations, and insurgents reportedly seized towns and bases in the northern and central regions of the country.

Mali’s military leadership, including Chief of Staff Major General Oumar Diarra, declared that the counteroffensives resulted in the neutralization of more than 200 “terrorists.”

The military junta declared two days of national mourning for the key figure who fostered Mali’s military relations with Russia.

Attacks were reported against multiple military installations across the country, and junta leader General Assimi Goïta was also reportedly threatened. Independent verification of the death toll remains limited due to ongoing fighting.