Mali’s Tuareg-led separatist rebels have declared that the ruling military junta “will fall” following a wave of coordinated attacks across the country, escalating an already volatile security crisis.
The statement came in an interview with AFP on Wednesday, just days after rebels and militant allies launched one of the largest assaults in nearly 15 years, striking military positions and areas linked to Russian-backed forces.
Over the weekend, coordinated offensives targeted strategic sites from the north to the centre, including zones around Bamako, killing at least 23 people. Authorities warned the toll could still rise as fighting continues to unfold.
Junta leader Assimi Goita, who briefly disappeared from public view, acknowledged the “extreme gravity” of the situation in a televised address but insisted the situation remained “under control”.
A spokesman for the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front said in Paris that the government’s collapse was inevitable, describing the offensive as a sustained push for territorial control in the north.
Fighting has intensified between the army, separatist forces, and Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, with key clashes reported in Kidal, Gao, Timbuktu and Mopti regions.
Security sources said Malian forces responded with airstrikes targeting rebel positions, including recaptured areas and suspected militant gatherings, as both sides traded control over strategic locations.
The unrest has already claimed high-profile casualties, including Defence Minister Sadio Camara, a key architect of Mali’s pivot towards Russia, whose funeral is scheduled for Thursday.
Russia’s Africa Corps, which replaced Wagner forces in Mali, confirmed continued military cooperation with Bamako, pledging joint action against “international terrorism” alongside Malian troops.
Analysts say the rebel-militant alignment reflects shifting battlefield dynamics, even as both groups maintain differing political goals against the junta and foreign military presence.
The latest escalation underscores Mali’s deepening instability since the 2020 coup, reviving fears of a wider fragmentation across the country’s contested north.