MALI’s Defence Minister, General Sadio Camara. has been killed during coordinated attacks on military sites nationwide, sources told Al Jazeera.
The news on Sunday came the day after his residence in the garrison town of Kati came under attack during simultaneous attacks by an al-Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels.
Camara was a central figure in the military government that seized power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
“He was one of the most influential figures within the ruling military leadership and had been seen by some as a possible future leader of Mali,” said Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who has reported extensively from Mali.
“His death is a major blow to the country’s armed forces.”
Haque said attackers carried out a suicide car bomb assault on Camara’s residence in Kati, a heavily fortified military town about 15km (9 miles) northwest of the capital, Bamako, where Interim President Assimi Goita also lives.
“Kati is considered one of the most secure locations in the country, yet fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), along with Tuareg fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), were able to launch the attack”.
Goita was “alive and well in a secure location”, Haque added.
“When the attack took place, he was moved to safety, so he remains in command of the military,” he said.
Gunmen attacked several other locations across Mali, including Bamako, as well as Gao and Kidal in the north and the central city of Sevare.
Haque said the sounds of heavy gunfire and loud explosions could still be heard in Kidal on Sunday, according to residents. “This remains an ongoing operation more than 24 hours after it began,” he added.
Analyst Bulama Bukarti said it was likely that “more battles for control of territory and strategic locations” would happen in the coming days.
He also highlighted how armed groups that were previously fighting each other had now joined forces to attack their common enemy – the state of Mali
“These are two groups fighting for different objectives,” Bukarti told Al Jazeera.
“But they came together last year and said they would work together going forward, and what we have seen over the last few days is the actual implementation of this agreement.”
The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the United States Bureau of African Affairs condemned the attacks.