"France has urged its citizens to leave Mali 「as soon as possible」, after a weekend of co-ordinated attacks by separatist fighters and Islamist militants. In an update on Wednesday, the advice also warned French citizens not to travel to the West African nation, describing the situation as 「extremely volatile」. Explosions and sustained gunfire were reported across the country, including the capital, Bamako on Saturday. In Kati, the defence leader Sadio Camara was killed in an apparent suicide bombing by militants, while in the north, separatist forces have taken control of the city of Kidal. Mali's military leader Gen Assimi Goïta said the security situation in the country was under control."

"A Russian paramilitary launched air strikes against rebel forces near Mali's capital Bamako, video footage shows, following a shock offensive against the ruling military government. Jihadist and Tuareg separatist forces on Saturday carried out attacks across Mali and killed the country's Defence Minister Sadio Camara. Russian forces claimed up to 12,000 fighters took part in the offensive. Despite the show of force, the mercenaries confirmed that they have pulled out of Kidal in northern Mali, which housed significant numbers of troops and was at the core of the military's operations in the region."

"It is hard to overstate the sense of shock reverberating across West Africa after attackers, in co-ordinated assaults, managed to enter Mali's capital, Bamako, assassinate the defence minister and seize control of northern areas. The scale of the offensive and the withdrawal of Malian and Russian forces from the northern city of Kidal, now under FLA control, have fuelled doubts about the strength of the military government led by Col Assimi Goïta, who came to power in a coup in August 2020. The death of Defence Minister Sadio Camara could weaken military co-ordination during any counter-offensive. Camara was one of the most powerful figures in the ruling structure and 「the main interlocutor for Moscow and the brain behind the deployment of Russian mercenaries in the Sahel」."