Mali’s Defense Chief Killed as Jihadist and Rebel Forces Seize Towns and Military Bases

Mali’s defense minister, General Sadio Camara, was killed in a sweeping attack by jihadi and rebel forces that seized several towns and military bases across the country, authorities confirmed on Sunday.

The Malian government announced Camara’s death in a post on the defense ministry’s Facebook page and expressed condolences to his family. State-run television also broadcast the announcement through spokesman General Issa Ousmane Coulibaly.

The attack, described as one of the biggest coordinated assaults on Mali’s army in recent years, struck the capital Bamako and multiple other cities and towns on Saturday. Government officials said the assault appeared to be over by Sunday, though questions remained about control of a key northern city claimed by separatists.

According to the government statement, Camara’s residence was targeted by a suicide car bomber and other attackers on Saturday. The government said it had previously reported at least 16 people wounded in what it denounced as terror attacks, but had not provided a death toll from the weekend violence.

Mali has long battled militants linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north. Separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while jihadist groups aligned with al-Qaida and IS have been fighting the government for over a decade.

The government said the attacks appeared to be over by Sunday, but several questions remained, including who was in control of a key northern city that separatists claim to have taken. Russia, which has forces on the ground in Mali as a security partner, was also challenged by the assault, officials said.