BAMAKO — Gunmen attacked Mali's capital Bamako and several other locations across the country early Saturday, with the army saying it was fighting terrorist groups that had attacked army barracks in Bamako and other areas. The army said unidentified terrorist groups attacked several positions in the capital and elsewhere in the country, and asked the population to remain calm while fighting was ongoing.

Two loud explosions and sustained gunfire were heard shortly before 6am (06:00 GMT) near the Kati military base outside Bamako. Soldiers were deployed to block off roads near the Kati base after the explosions and gunfire.

An Associated Press journalist in Bamako reported the use of heavy weaponry and automatic rifle gunfire near Modibo Keita International Airport, about 15 km from the city centre, where a helicopter patrolled neighbourhoods. Gunfire could also be heard early Saturday near a military camp close to the airport that houses Russian mercenary forces.

Similar unrest occurred at about the same time in the central town of Sevare and in the towns of Kidal and Gao in northern Mali. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front, said on social media that its forces had taken control of multiple positions in Kidal and Gao. According to four security sources, the regional al-Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) was also involved in the attacks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from JNIM or from Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP).

Mali has been dealing with more than a decade of armed unrest, including attacks by the West Africa affiliates of al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), and a longer history of Tuareg-led rebellion in the north. Mali's military leaders took power after coups in 2020 and 2021. Following those coups, Bamako cut ties with France and expelled French forces and United Nations peacekeeping missions. In July 2025, military authorities granted coup leader Assimi Goita a five-year presidential mandate renewable without an election.

In 2025, Russia's Wagner Group said it would complete its mission in Mali after aiding Malian forces since 2021, and it has since become the Africa Corps under the Russian Ministry of Defence. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States in 2023 and created a joint military battalion to fight armed groups across the Sahel.