Gunfire in Mali as army battles 'terrorist groups'

An aerial image shows a general view of Gao, in Mali, on November 26, 2019.Gunfire rocked several districts of the junta-ruled West African country of Mali on April 25, 2026. [AFP]

The army in junta-ruled Mali on Saturday battled "terrorist groups" it said had launched attacks across the west African nation stricken by more than a decade of jihadist conflict.

Witnesses reported fighting in the capital Bamako and other key cities in the landlocked nation where the military seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021.

An army statement said: "Terrorist groups, not yet identified, early this morning targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and the interior."

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. But jihadists had already tried last year to cripple the capital by cutting off its fuel supply.

Fighting was reported in Bamako, the northern cities of Gao and Kidal and the central city of Sevare.

Heavy gunfire was also heard at Kati, in the Bamako suburbs, where military ruler General Assimi Goita has his residence, witnesses said.

Kati residents put images on social media showing their homes destroyed. "We are holed up in Kati," one resident told AFP.

Helicopters buzzed over Bamako, notably around the international airport.

The streets of the capital were deserted amid sporadic firing, an AFP correspondent reported.

 Jihadist turmoil

Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals. But since 2012, it has grappling with a security crisis over attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group and community-based criminal groups and separatists.

The military government, like its counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, has severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, to move closer politically and militarily to Russia.

It has also been criticised for restricting the media and silencing opposition activists. Goita's administration has banned political parties.

The junta had pledged to hand over power to civilians by March 2024 but in July 2025, it granted Goita a five-year presidential term, renewable "as many times as necessary" and without an election.

US President Donald Trump's administration has sought to establish contacts with the three juntas, however, while Togo has sought to act as an intermediary between Western nations and the three countries, which have formed their own Alliance of Sahel States.

Thousands of people have died in attacks in Mali since the jihadist turmoil erupted and tens of thousands of Malians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, including Mauritania, in recent years.

Russia's Wagner Group, which had been fighting with Malian forces against jihadists since 2021, announced the end of its mission in June 2025, and has become the Africa Corps, an organisation under the direct control of the Russian defence ministry.

Since September, jihadists from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known by its Arab acronym JNIM, have been attacking fuel tanker convoys, bringing the capital Bamako to a standstill at the height of the crisis in October.

Despite several months of calm, Bamako residents faced a diesel shortage in March, with fuel prioritised for use in the energy sectoring.