Jihadist attacks kill dozens in central Mali

Mali’s fight against jihadist insurgents has been undermined once again as attacks in central Mali killed dozens in two days, according to RFI and agencies on May 10th.

On May 6th, suspected jihadists attacked two villages in the Mopti region, targeting residents and traditional hunters commonly called “dozos”; at least 30 people were killed.

Civilians were exclusively targeted on May 8th when al-Qaeda-linked militants returned to almost the same villages; the attackers accused villagers of refusing to sign local agreements to respect jihadist law.

At least 70 people were killed in the attacks; the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) condemned the violence and urged Mali’s junta to protect civilians.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, although organisations linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are active in the region.

Following a wave of attacks by Islamists and Tuareg separatists that began on April 25th, Russian auxiliaries claimed to have neutralised terrorists in the Ségou, Mopti and Nara regions by May 1st.

Militants from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) launched coordinated attacks against cities and garrison towns in northern Mali on April 25th.

Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks at his residence in Kati when his home was struck by explosives.

On April 25th, the FLA recaptured Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold that Mali’s junta regained control of in November 2023.

Separatists have waged war against the government since their latest uprising in 2012; they are fighting for an independent state in northern Mali, which they call Azawad.

JNIM is behind the fuel blockade Mali has experienced since September 2025; militants exploited Mali’s landlocked status and reliance on fuel imports to impose a siege on major cities.

Despite the apparent alliance between JNIM and the FLA, the FLA has rejected the label of “terrorist” imposed by Malian and international authorities and distanced itself from JNIM’s actions.

FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane asserts that the group is “a political project for the self-determination of the population of Azawad.”

Mali’s junta has faced repeated criticism over its apparent failure to prevent human rights violations, with the Malian Armed Forces (FAMA) and Russian mercenaries being implicated in sexual violence and executions.

The CD-DPA’s annual report found that 553 people were killed in northern and central Mali throughout 2025; FAMA and Russian auxiliaries were implicated in 374 incidents.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org