Rebels seize northern town, set up checkpoints around Mali's capital
Theo Al Jazeera và Reuters
Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM rebels have seized the northern town of Tessalit and set up checkpoints near Mali's capital, Bamako, calling for an uprising against the junta. The advances follow attacks that reportedly killed the defense minister, with video evidence showing fighters in control of a key military base. Russia’s African Corps denies abandoning positions, but analysts say the army appears to offer little resistance.
Rebel fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) group have set up checkpoints around Mali's capital, Bamako, and seized the northern town of Tessalit, Reuters reported on May 2.
JNIM has called on Malians to rise up and “overthrow the military government” and implement Islamic law.
The developments come days after a series of attacks by JNIM and the Tuareg separatist group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) that reportedly killed Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara. Videos shared on social media on May 2 showed armed fighters inside the Amachach base in Tessalit, along with military vehicles moving through the town. A video verified by Reuters showed fighters driving through the town waving the FLA flag.
Media outlets aligned with the Azawad armed movement, which seeks independence for northern Mali, said the images showed fighters in control of the base after Mali’s army and Russia’s African Corps retreated. Russia is the main foreign backer of Mali’s military government.
JNIM claimed on May 1 that it had captured the Hombori base in central Mali and taken control of two checkpoints near Bamako, after threatening to completely encircle the capital. Russia’s African Corps denied JNIM’s claim that it had abandoned the Hombori base, insisting its helicopters had resupplied Mali’s troops there with ammunition and other supplies on May 1 and evacuated wounded soldiers from clashes with “terrorists.”
The African Corps also said JNIM and FLA continue to regroup, reconnoiter bases belonging to the African Corps and the Malian army, and intensify propaganda to undermine the morale of Mali’s military.
Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar, Senegal, noted that the Malian army’s lack of response to the rebels’ advances was surprising, and that four major military bases in the north are now in the hands of armed groups. “This is a major development. It seems the Malian forces are not even putting up a fight in the north,” Haque said.
Mali’s military leadership came to power after coups in 2020 and 2021, with a brief period of civilian rule in between. As of the time of reporting, the junta had not issued any statement on the latest events.
