Explosions and persistent gunfire have been reported in Mali’s capital, Bamako, as armed factions appear to coordinate attacks across the country. In a statement issued on Saturday, the military stated that “fighting is ongoing,” and that “our defense and security forces are currently engaged in repelling the attackers.”
Witnesses told Reuters that there were explosions and shooting at the Kati military camp, a key installation outside the capital. Soldiers have been sent to block routes in the region. There have also been reports of strikes in Gao and Kidal in the north, as well as Sevare in central Mali, in what an expert calls the greatest Islamist onslaught in years.
One person who was returning to Bamako from Ethiopia told the BBC that all flights into the city were cancelled early Saturday. It is unclear whether the reported attacks affected the airport. The US Embassy in Mali has recommended citizens to hide in place and avoid travel, citing explosions and gunfire near Bamako’s Modibo Keita International Airport and Kati. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel Programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali, told the BBC that the incident appeared to be “the largest coordinated jihadist attack on Mali in years.
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