Since 25 April 2026, a series of joint coordinated attacks have been carried out by Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) across multiple locations in Mali. The JNIM fighters launched attacks in Bourem, Bamako, Kati, Sévaré, Senou and Mopti. The FLA took control of Kidal and parts of Gao. In early October 2026 the FLA retreated from Kidal and the city came back under the control of the Malian army.
The Islamic State's Sahel Province (IS-SP) also launched its own attacks under the cover of the FLA–JNIM attacks, taking control of Labbezanga and launching an assault on Menaka, that was repulsed.
The coordinated attacks are the largest offensive in the Mali War since the 2012 rebellion. There have been joint attacks by JNIM and the FLA in Azawadi-claimed territory, while in southern and central Mali, JNIM has acted independently. The offensive targeted government centers in Bamako and Kati, which resulted in the killing of Defense Minister Sadio Camara and injury of intelligence chief Modibo Koné, as well as the cities of Kidal, Gao, Sévaré and Mopti. Malian troops and Russia's Africa Corps subsequently withdrew from Kidal, Aguelhok and Tessalit in the Kidal Region; Tessit in the Gao Region; and Ber in the Tombouctou Region. The Malian government and Russia's Africa Corps described the attacks as a coup attempt that has been thwarted.
The offensives were renewed on 4 July 2026, when coordinated attacks occurred across various locations including Anéfis and Kenioroba. The attacks also plunged the Malian state into a water and power crisis.
Background
Mali has been embroiled in a civil war since 2012, initiated by a loose coalition of secular Tuareg rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) with support from various jihadist groups, including Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. In January 2012, these groups launched an offensive against government forces in northern Mali. By April, the MNLA had seized control of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu, proclaiming the independence of the State of Azawad.
The offensive prompted Malian officers to overthrow President Amadou Toumani Touré and seek French intervention via Operation Serval, which routed the jihadists at Konna and reversed the gains made by the Islamist faction of the alliance. Although the Algiers Accords were signed between the Malian government and the Coordination of Azawad Movements in 2015, the implementation of the agreement stalled, and fighting also spread from northern to central Mali from late 2014.
Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, elected in 2013, failed to implement reforms to strengthen the Malian state. Foreign military missions such as MINUSMA and the French-led Operation Barkhane also failed to fully suppress rebel and jihadist groups, some of which formed the al-Qaeda affiliated alliance Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in 2017. Following protests in response to alleged fraud in the 2020 parliamentary election, Keïta was removed in a coup led by Assimi Goita, who became the military ruler of Mali after another coup in 2021.
Following similar coups in Burkina Faso and Niger, the three countries asked UN and French forces to leave, and formed the Alliance of Sahel States in 2023. The war in Mali drastically escalated after the withdrawal of UN and French troops. Mali subsequently requested the assistance of the Russian Wagner Group for the Kidal offensive in 2023.
Following a setback at the Battle of Tinzaouaten in 2024, which was won by the Azawad Liberation Front (a descendant of the MNLA) and JNIM, the Wagner Group was replaced by the Russian Africa Corps, who have since exploited the country's minerals and killed civilians in areas frequented by the FLA and JNIM. Following 2024, JNIM opened a new front to isolate Bamako and other urban areas in western and southern Mali from economic centers and supply lines. The group targeted the mining region of Kayes and towns that connect Mali to Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea and Ivory Coast, the primary sources of Malian fuel imports. This was part of wider pressure by JNIM in southern Mali.
In July 2025, JNIM launched attacks on the cities of Kayes and Nioro du Sahel. In September 2025, JNIM imposed a fuel blockade by attacking transport routes from the borders to government-controlled southern cities. As the south houses the majority of Mali's population, food production and economic centers, the blockade of fuel imports crippled the Malian state's ability to function.
Prior to these attacks, a truce between JNIM and the Malian government had freed 100 JNIM prisoners in exchange for a lifting of the fuel blockade. Signed in late March, the truce was intended to last until Eid al-Adha (locally called Tabaski) in late May. The Malian government later denied releasing any prisoners, claiming the reports were "completely unfounded and lacking any reliable source."
Attacks
On 25 April, shortly before 5:20, two explosions and heavy gunfire were reported near Kati, the main military base located on the outskirts of Bamako (which houses Malian leader Assimi Goita). JNIM fighters drove a car bomb into the house of Defense Minister Sadio Camara, killing him and members of his family. Fighting occurred in the neighborhood of Mamaribougou.
At around 6:00, men dressed in Malian army uniforms entered the town of Kati. Witnesses also reported that Russian mercenaries were involved in fighting near the Modibo Keita International Airport in Bamako, where three helicopters were reportedly seen patrolling amid sustained gunfire. Gunfire was simultaneously reported in Gao, Sévaré, Kidal and Mopti. Africa Corps had at least 400 personnel in the region.
Kidal and northern Mali
According to the FLA, checkpoints at the entrance of Kidal changed hands within the first hour and fighting was concentrated at the city's police station. The station's perimeter was breached that afternoon and control changed hands. Footage showed FLA fighters entering the residence of the Governor of Kidal General El Hadj Ag Gamou, who had been appointed by the junta in 2023. The FLA released a statement claiming to be in control of most of Kidal, and claimed responsibility for the attacks in Bamako.
FLA Spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane claimed control over locations in Kidal and Gao, while calling on the "authorities of Burkina Faso and Niger to stay out of the ongoing events in Mali." He later told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the FLA had taken control of most of Kidal, with Gamou having taken refuge in a former MINUSMA camp. A former Kidal mayor confirmed to the Associated Press that gunmen took control of neighborhoods in the city, leading to clashes with the army. Security sources cited by Reuters indicated that JNIM was also involved, reportedly fighting alongside the FLA in Kidal.
Kidal was fully under FLA control by the end of 25 April, although Malian and Russian soldiers remained entrenched in the former MINUSMA camp. Resistance continued on the outskirts of Kidal from Malian and Russian soldiers until the evening of 25 April, when they were evacuated to the MINUSMA base.
On 26 April, France 24 reported that FLA rebels and a local politician told AFP that new clashes had occurred in Kidal between rebels and government troops backed by Russian mercenaries. Gunfire was reported on 26 April at the garrison in Kati, where JNIM attackers were present in unfinished buildings and surrounding hills, despite Malian army claims of full control over the town. The FLA later announced that they reached a deal to allow the withdrawal of Russian Africa Corps forces from Kidal, granting the rebels full control of the area.
An unnamed FLA spokesperson stated that after negotiations with elements of the encircled Africa Corps detachment at the base, they were to be withdrawn and escorted to the town of Tessalit. An Africa Corps convoy was subsequently observed departing the former MINUSMA camp under FLA escort, followed by the withdrawal of Malian soldiers. Malian and Russian soldiers set fire to the camp before departing. The FLA subsequently gained full control over Kidal, and the Malian flag no longer flew over the city.
On the night of 26 April, Army Chief of Staff Oumar Diarra confirmed in a televised announcement that the Malian army had left the city and that its forces were re-positioning in Anafif. The Africa Corps later confirmed its withdrawal from Kidal on 27 April. It was also reported that the Africa Corps withdrew from the Aguelhok and Tessalit communes adjacent to Kidal. Algerian mediation between the FLA and the Africa Corps soldiers helped ensure the peaceful withdrawal.
Also on 27 April, Malian and Russian troops withdrew from Labbezanga in the Gao Region, a border post on the Mali–Niger border, which was subsequently occupied by Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP) members. ISSP also began amassing forces around Ménaka, the capital of the Ménaka Region, and launched probing attacks on military positions around the city. On 29 April, Reuters reported that Ménaka was under government control and that ISSP militants had retreated from the town.
On 30 April, the government of Niger announced that the unified forces of the Alliance of Sahel States had "conducted intense air campaigns" against jihadist and separatist forces in the hours after the 25 April attacks in Kidal, Gao and Ménaka, which in addition to Mali involved Burkina Faso and Niger. On 1 May, the FLA and JNIM took control of the military base outside of Tessalit in the Kidal Region, near the Algeria–Mali border, after Malian and Russian troops withdrew southward.
On 27 May, the army began a bombing campaign around Kidal, using drones and Su-24 aircraft, destroying a mosque and damaging several homes, including that of FLA President Bilal Ag Acherif. On 15 June, the seven civilians were killed by government airstrikes targeting terrorists in Kimya, near Hombori.
On 4 July, a renewed offensive began, with insurgents attacking Anafif and Gao. The FLA claimed responsibility for the attacks in northern Mali, and also claimed that its forces had entered Anafif, later culminating with the alleged capture of Anefiis and later Konna in the Mopti region. Additional assaults hit Kouakourou, Bandiagara-area positions, Kati military base, and Kenieroba prison. Fighting occurred in Gao as well. The Malian army claimed to have repelled an attack in Sévaré but issued no details on the other locations.
Central and southern Mali
JNIM was reportedly involved in attacking Sévaré and Kati, where an FLA presence was not reported. Other clashes took place between JNIM and the Malian armed forces in Base 101 in Senou. The road connecting Bamako and Sikasso also fell under a JNIM blockade. A civilian told RFI JNIM fighters killed two people during the initial attack on Mopti. Later that evening, RFI's Mandenkan Fulfulde bureau cited civilian sources reporting that shooting between JNIM and Malian forces was still ongoing in Mopti at 17:00.
By the end of 25 April, Malian forces reportedly retained control of Kati and Bamako, although RFI noted that "the situation could change overnight" in those cities. The status of some soldiers and officials, including Sadio Camara, remained unknown. On 25 April, in Gao and Sévaré, control was divided between jihadists and government forces. JNIM claimed to have taken "complete control" of Mopti. Libération claimed that "the city of Gao was mostly under rebel control, although Malian forces held the Gao airport".
Gunfire was reported on 26 April at the garrison in Kati, where JNIM attackers were present in unfinished buildings and surrounding hills, despite Malian army claims of full control over the town. RFI reported a "fragile calm" in both Gao and Sévaré on 26 April. The city of Sévaré remained split under Malian and rebel control, with brief clashes heard early in the morning of 26 April in Sévaré and Kati. JNIM claimed "full control" of Mopti in statements. In Sévaré, fighting involved gunmen and control appears divided, with rebels pushing in before some withdrawals or pushes back. Witnesses described urban gunfire and bodies in streets. By the evening, Sévaré was calm, but rebel fighters were seen north of the city.
The Malian government announced that curfews would be implemented in cities across the country, and that armed checkpoints would be increased in and out of cities. On 27 April, JNIM said the Malian military had begun to withdraw from Tessit, Gao Region, with the soldiers agreeing to hand over their weapons in exchange for a safe passage from the town. Negotiated withdrawals of Malian and Africa Corps forces also took place in Ber, Léré, and at the lucrative Intahaka gold mine. In the evening, two explosions were heard near the airport area in Bamako after a military convoy was seen approaching the airport. On 29 April, the FLA attacked Gourma-Rharous.
On 6 May, JNIM attacked the Kenieroba Central Prison in southern Mali, which houses 2,500 inmates, including militants from the group. On 7 May, JNIM killed at least 30 people in coordinated attacks on the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou in retaliation to actions by the Dan Na Ambassagou militia. On 8 May, JNIM continued their attacks in central Mali in the villages of Kouroude and Dougara, killing an additional 40 people. On 12 May, JNIM attacked the village of Kendié and looted most of the shops.