Mali's Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an explosion near the capital Bamako, the government reported on Sunday evening, LETA writes, citing DPA and AFP.
A car bomb detonated by a suicide bomber exploded outside the minister's residence in Kati, according to a statement.
Coordinated attacks by jihadist militants and separatist rebels occurred across the country over the weekend, and the strategically important city of Kidal in the northeast has fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
An agreement has been reached for the withdrawal of the Russian African Corps, which supports the Malian army, from Kidal, Tuareg rebels confirmed to AFP, noting that the city is now fully under their control.
In November 2023, the Malian army, with the help of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, regained control of Kidal, which had been held by the rebels for over ten years.
The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which mainly consists of Tuareg groups, stated that it has taken positions in the Gao region in the north of the country.
The FLA aims to achieve the independence of Azawad — the northern region of Mali.
Armed conflicts have been ongoing in Mali for over ten years; however, the recent attacks have been the most severe since 2020 when a military junta seized power.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 26, 2026
Al-Qaeda in Mali (JNIM) has killed the Defense Minister of Mali General Sadio Camara.
A massive car bomb (VBIED) exploded in front of his house in Kati at the start of yesterday’s nationwide attacks by JNIM and the Tuareg separatists pic.twitter.com/3QW6x7p3l6
