BAMAKO — Malian President Assimi Goita has assumed the duties of defense minister while remaining head of state, following the killing of Gen. Sadio Camara in a suicide car bombing on April 25. Former armed forces chief of staff Gen. Oumar Diarra has been appointed deputy defense minister to assist Goita.

Camara was killed when a suicide car bomb struck his residence in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako. The bombing was part of coordinated attacks carried out by militants from the al-Qaida-linked Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front on several cities and towns, including Bamako and Kati.

The Islamic militants and separatists seized several key towns and military bases during the assault. Rebel groups captured the northern town of Kidal in what was the largest attack in Mali in nearly 15 years. The fighting killed at least 23 people, including civilians and children, according to UNICEF.

Following the attacks, military personnel, civilians and political leaders suspected of ties to the separatists and militants have been arrested. A former Malian minister and critic of the junta was abducted from his home by armed men, his family said.

JNIM fighters imposed a blockade around Bamako, setting up roadblocks and checkpoints and preventing traffic. The rebels announced the blockade in retaliation for the population's support of the army. Transport companies said the blockade disrupted travel on several roads last week but that armed groups have now blocked only the route between Bamako and Kayes, with other roads to the rest of the country remaining largely passable.

JNIM controls large areas of rural territory in Mali's north and central regions and has active cells around the capital. An ISIL affiliate in Sahel Province controls areas in northeastern Menaka city. The Liberation Front for Azawad is fighting for an independent state called Azawad and controls Kidal alongside JNIM, and seeks control of Gao, Menaka and Timbuktu.

Goita's military government took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, pledging to restore security but struggling to achieve that. In July, military authorities granted Goita a five-year presidential mandate renewable as many times as necessary without an election.

The junta cut ties with France and expelled French forces and United Nations peacekeeping missions, turning to Russia as its security partner. Russia's Wagner Group, which had been aiding Malian forces against armed groups since 2021, completed its mission and has become the Africa Corps under the Russian defense ministry.