Hundreds of supporters of Mali’s military government gathered at a stadium in Bamako on Saturday to reaffirm their backing for the transitional authorities, weeks after coordinated attacks by jihadists and separatist rebels plunged the country into one of its worst security crises in years.
The rally followed the death of Defence Minister Sadio Camara, a powerful figure in Mali’s junta and a key architect of the country’s military partnership with Russia. Camara was killed in late April when a suicide car bomb struck his residence in Kati, a garrison town near the capital. The attack formed part of a wider offensive claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, JNIM, and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front.
Supporters at the Bamako rally said Camara’s death had strengthened, rather than weakened, their resolve. “The death of General Sadio Camara has deeply moved us and has not left us indifferent,” said junta supporter Oumar Neïté. “We want to show the whole world that General Sadio may be gone, but there are hundreds of Sadio Camaras here. Mali is not dead, and it never will be.”
The April attacks targeted Bamako, Kati and several other towns and military positions, marking one of the largest coordinated assaults on the Malian state since the country’s security crisis began in 2012. JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front said they acted jointly, an unusual development that underscored the pressure facing the junta and its Russian-backed security partners.
Following Camara’s death, junta leader Assimi Goïta assumed the defence portfolio himself, state media reported. The move highlighted the strategic importance of the ministry as Mali confronts insurgent advances, rebel activity and continuing instability across the north and centre of the country.
Mali has been under military rule since a 2020 coup. The junta promised to restore security but has faced worsening violence from jihadist groups, separatists and local armed networks. It has also cut ties with traditional partners, including France and the United Nations peacekeeping mission, while deepening cooperation with Russia’s Africa Corps, the successor to Wagner operations in the region.
Saturday’s rally was intended to project unity at a moment of vulnerability. But the scale of the recent attacks, including the killing of one of Mali’s most senior security officials, has raised fresh questions about the junta’s ability to deliver the stability it promised when it seized power.
