While beginning to impose a road blockade in Bamako, Jnim jihadists called on Thursday for a broad “common front” to “end the junta” in Mali. For its part, the government of Niger indicated that the unified anti-jihadist force of the Alliance of Sahel States had carried out "intense air campaigns" in northern Mali.

Published on: 01/05/2026 - 01:02 Modified on: 01/05/2026 - 07:49

The jihadists of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, called on Thursday April 30 for a broad "common front" against the junta in Mali and subjected its capital Bamako to a road blockade.

The Nigerien government, for its part, announced in the evening that the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the unified anti-jihadist force bringing together Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, had carried out strikes in northern Mali shortly after the weekend's jihadist attacks. These coordinated and unprecedented attacks notably killed the Malian Minister of Defense and led to the loss of the key town of Kidal, in the north of the Sahel country.

They were carried out by the jihadist group Jnim with rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a predominantly Tuareg rebellion, against strategic positions of the military, in power since 2020.

Also read: In Mali, a convenient alliance between jihadists and separatists facing “a common enemy”

The Nigerien authorities "welcome (...) the prompt energetic reaction of the units of the unified force (...) which carried out intense air campaigns in the hours following the cowardly attacks of April 25, 2026 in Gao, Ménaka and Kidal", indicated Thursday evening the government of Niger.

Call from jihadists for a “common front”

Earlier Thursday, Jnim called for a broad “common front” against the junta in Mali and for a “transition”. “We call on all sincere patriots, without any distinction, to rise and unite our forces in a common front” including “political parties, the national armed forces, religious authorities, traditional leaders and all components of Malian society,” said the jihadist group.

“It is imperative to put an end” to the junta, for “a peaceful and inclusive transition” for a “new Mali” of which “one of the essential priorities (will be) the establishment of sharia”, Islamic law, he added.

Blockade in Bamako

At the same time, the Jnim began to impose a road blockade in Bamako on Thursday. Air traffic to neighboring countries remains maintained.

In the morning in Bamako, a national tribute under high security was paid to Defense Minister Sadio Camara, killed Saturday in Kati during the attacks, before his burial.

In combat gear and dark glasses, Assimi Goïta, the head of the Malian junta, paid tribute to him by bowing in front of his coffin, covered with the green-yellow-red flag of Mali and on which his military cap was placed. With closed faces, thousands of people, relatives, official figures from Mali and neighboring countries participated in the ceremony, including the defense ministers of Niger and Burkina Faso, also led by juntas and allies in the AES.

General Camara, 47, was a key figure in the Malian junta and considered the architect of the rapprochement in recent years with Russia.

Read alsoAfter the death of General Sadio Camara, Russian influence in Mali called into question?

“You fell as a martyr. You left as a hero,” declared Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga, referring to Sadio Camara.

Bakary Camara, the family spokesperson, paid tribute to “an attentive father, husband and son”. The testimonies were followed by a military parade in his honor.

Critical security situation

His death is a hard blow for the junta, more weakened than ever, which finds itself in a very difficult situation, while Kidal is now under the control of armed groups, who seem to continue to advance in the North.

This death, the large-scale attacks and the loss of Kidal also cast doubt on the junta's abilities to face threats from armed groups and undermine its rhetoric, which until now affirmed that its strategy of rupture, its new partnerships with foreigners and its increased military effort had made it possible to reverse the trend against Islamist fighters.

Mali faces a critical security situation and is prey to uncertainty and excitement after the coordinated and simultaneous attacks of these armed groups across its territory, which left at least 23 civilians and soldiers dead, according to a hospital source.

Read alsoIn Mali, a weakened partnership between Russia and the junta in the face of the jihadist offensive

On Tuesday, Assimi Goïta affirmed that the situation was now “under control”, while recognizing a moment of “extreme seriousness”.

“The situation is far from being under control,” retorted FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with AFP, affirming that the military regime “will fall, sooner or later.”

Moscow for its part affirmed Thursday that its forces would remain in Mali, thus rejecting the rebels' call for a Russian withdrawal from the country.

With AFP

Keywords associated with the article

The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.