Mali experienced a dark weekend during which several cities in the country were targeted by violent attacks perpetrated by Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (ALF) coalition and the jihadist group supporting Islam and Muslims.
These operations resulted in the death of the Minister of Defense, Sadio Camara. The attackers also claim to have taken control of the city of Kidal.
These events have shaken the country and sparked strong reactions around the world. Yet, one voice is conspicuously absent: that of the transitional president, Assimi Goïta, who has remained silent since the attacks began. The army general has made no statement and has yet to appear in public.
According to a Malian source close to the security services, he is alive and well and in a safe location. No further details have been released at this time.
This situation is unprecedented since the events of March 2012. At that time, Tuareg independence rebels had taken control of the cities of Kidal, Gao and then Timbuktu before being ousted by other Islamist armed groups associated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
For the Malian junta, this is also the first attack of such magnitude since seizing power in 2020.
