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Camara’s home within the garrison city of Kati got here beneath assault amid simultaneous assaults throughout the West African nation.
Printed On 26 Apr 2026
Mali’s Defence Minister Normal Sadio Camara has been killed amid coordinated assaults on army websites throughout the nation, sources informed Al Jazeera.
The information on Sunday got here a day after his residence within the garrison city of Kati got here beneath assault throughout the simultaneous assaults launched by al-Qaeda affiliate and Tuareg rebels on Saturday.
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Camara was a central determine within the army authorities that seized energy after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
“He was one of the vital influential figures throughout the ruling army management and had been seen by some as a doable future chief of Mali,” stated Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, who has reported extensively from Mali.
“His loss of life is a serious blow to the nation’s armed forces.”
Haque stated attackers carried out a suicide automobile bomb assault on Camara’s residence in Kati, a closely fortified army city about 15km (9 miles) northwest of the capital, Bamako.
“Kati is taken into account one of the vital safe places within the nation, but fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, together with Tuareg fighters from the Liberation Entrance of Azawad, had been in a position to launch the assault,” he stated.
Gunmen additionally attacked a number of places throughout Mali, together with Bamako, in addition to Gao and Kidal within the north, and the central metropolis of Sevare.
“As we communicate, folks within the garrison city of Kidal can nonetheless hear heavy gunfire and loud explosions,” Haque added. “This stays an ongoing operation greater than 24 hours after it started.”
Interim President Assimi Goita has come beneath stress because the offensive, with analysts saying the authorities appeared to have been caught off guard by the newest wave of violence.
Haque stated Goita was “alive and nicely in a safe location”.
“When the assault occurred, he was moved to security, so he stays in charge of the army,” he stated.
The African Union, the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the US Bureau of African Affairs condemned the assaults throughout Mali.
