Al Qaeda-Linked Militants Launch Major Attacks on Cities Across Mali

Al Qaeda-linked militants launched coordinated attacks across Mali on Saturday, claiming to have seized two major cities while simultaneously striking the heart of the capital, Bamako, in what observers described as a major, unprecedented offensive.

The group, JNIM, attacked several cities at the same time and hit the country’s military headquarters just outside Bamako, where the home of the defense minister was destroyed, according to experts who monitor the region. In a statement, JNIM claimed to have captured the northern city of Kidal and the central city of Mopti, as well as military bases in nearby Sevaré and in Gao. It named the Azawad Liberation Front, an armed separatist movement of the Tuareg ethnic minority, as its partner in the attacks.

The offensive follows an evolution of the group from a rural insurgency into a formidable force that uses blockades to starve major cities and launches conventional-style battles against the Malian army.

“This morning’s attacks represent a major escalation in the conflict, a new stage reached by armed groups,” said Jean-Hervé Jezequel, the Sahel Project director at the International Crisis Group.

Many residents of Bamako awoke on Saturday to a huge boom.

“At about 5 a.m., we heard a giant explosion that made our houses shake,” said a businessman in Bamako who asked to be identified only by his first name, Abdoulaye, for security reasons. “We were really scared.”

The government put out an early, short statement on Saturday confirming multiple attacks by “as yet unidentified armed terrorist groups,” saying that its forces were still battling them and that further information would be given later.