The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AU), Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, strongly condemned this Saturday the armed attacks committed against several cities in Mali.

In a statement issued by the AU, Youssouf noted that he “follows with deep concern the reported attacks in Mali against the capital, Bamako, and other urban areas of the country.”

The head of the Commission (secretariat) stressed that these acts “endanger the lives of the civilian population” and highlighted “the firm commitment” of the AU to “the promotion of peace, security, good governance and stability in Mali.”

Youssouf expressed, finally, his “full solidarity with the people of Mali, the security forces and the national authorities.”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mali reported this Saturday that “armed terrorist groups” tried to attack several cities in the country, but suffered “immediate setbacks” from the Army, in the context of a secessionist offensive in the north of the country.

The separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which claims that vast region of the north, announced the start of the “battle of liberation” and claimed to have taken control of the strategic city of Kidal, while other armed groups, allegedly linked to Al Qaeda, attacked Bamako and nearby cities.

The Malian Army assured that the situation “is totally under control” and called on the population to remain calm and not spread videos or propaganda messages aimed at generating unrest.

The country was the scene this Saturday of coordinated attacks in multiple locations, including Bamako and its outskirts, Kati, Sévaré, and Mopti, with heavy artillery detonations and automatic weapons fire.

The attacks in the northern Azawad region were launched by the FLA, while those in Bamako and its periphery were by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM, an Al Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel), although this jihadist organization has not claimed the assaults.

Since 2020, Mali has been governed by a military junta in a context marked by instability and the serious violence that the country has suffered for more than a decade due to northern secessionists, who claim the Azawad region, and jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

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