Sawt Falasteen - Mali defence minister killed, fresh fighting between army and rebels

Defence Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren died after a car bomb attack on his home in the junta stronghold of Kita, outside Bamako, his family and an official said.

Saturday's shock attacks, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country.

Fighting resumed Sunday in several areas, including Kita near Bamako, Kidal, Gao and Severe.

Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali's army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was "totally" under their control.

"An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday," a Tuareg official told AFP.

"We saw a military convoy leave, but don't know the details of what's happening ... Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets," a redident added.

Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army backed by Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of control by rebels.

The FLA also claims to have taken positions in the northern Gao region.

"The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol," a security source told AFP on Sunday.

Mali has been ravaged for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence but Saturday's attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power.

They took place on the fringes of the Malian capital Bamako and in several towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel nation.

- Residents on edge -

The fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers wounded and caused "limited material damage," the government said in a statement on Saturday evening.

It added that "the situation is totally under control in all the localities" that were attacked.

In the capital, access to military facilities has been blocked by barriers and tyres on the roads, an AFP journalist said.

In the outlying district of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was jittery.

"I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It's traumatising,” a resident said.

Kati was calm after "the jihadists left the area, but we are living in fear," a resident told AFP on Sunday.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned "acts of violence" in Mali.

"The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali," his spokesman said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General calls for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to meet urgent humanitarian needs," spokesman Stephane Dujarric added.

The European Union on Sunday condemned the "terrorist attacks" in Mali.

Russia's Africa Corps, an organisation under direct control of the Russian defence ministry, has taken over from the mercenary Wagner group in helping Malian forces fight jihadists.

Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals.

Mali's rulers, like their military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.

R.Shaban--SF-PST