BAMAKO, April 28 (Reuters) – The leader of Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, met with Russia’s ambassador on Tuesday, according to a post on his office’s social media account, his first public appearance since insurgents launched coordinated attacks over the weekend.
West Africa’s al Qaeda affiliate and a Tuareg-dominated separatist group hit Mali’s main army base and the area near Bamako’s airport, while also pushing Russian troops supporting government forces out of Kidal in the north.
The attacks have triggered a scramble for territory across Mali’s vast desert north, raising the prospect of significant gains by armed groups that have shown an increasing willingness to strike neighbouring countries and, analysts say, could eventually set their sights further afield.
Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in Saturday’s attacks. Goita had not been seen until the social media post published on Tuesday afternoon.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Goita and Russian Ambassador Igor Gromyko, “discussed the current situation and the strong partnership between Bamako and Moscow,” according to the post.
Gromyko “reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting Mali in the fight against international terrorism,” it said.
The scale of the offensive, which hit multiple sites across the West African country, demonstrated an unprecedented ability by groups with differing objectives to work together and strike at the heart of the military government. Authorities have said the situation is under control.
ISLAMIC STATE FIGHTERS ENTER EASTERN TOWN
As Malian forces sought to regroup in the north, fighters from West Africa’s Islamic State affiliate entered the northern town of Menaka, five sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The group, known as Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP), did not take part in Saturday’s fighting. However, its fighters were present in Menaka, near the border with Niger, as of Tuesday morning, according to two residents, two security analysts and an official from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
One resident said the fighters had established checkpoints in some neighbourhoods while Malian soliders had moved to a nearby camp.
Another resident reported seeing jihadists come and go in small groups on motorcycles but said there was no gunfire and that people continued to move about the town.
None of the sources reported direct clashes.
ISSP and al Qaeda’s West African affiliate, known as JNIM, have fought each other for years. Since their first skirmishes in 2019, the two groups have clashed hundreds of times, leaving more than 2,100 people dead, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.
(Reporting by Mali newsroom, Anait Miridzhanian, Portia Crowe; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Bate Felix and Ros Russell)
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