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The army in junta-ruled Mali battled Saturday what it called “terrorist groups” that launched surprise attacks around the capital Bamako and other parts of the west African nation.A UN security note reported “simultaneous complex attacks” in Kati and near the airport in the capital Bamako, as well as in cities and towns further north in the West African, gold-producing country, including Mopti, Gao and Kidal.”There’s gunfire everywhere,” a witness in the central town of Sevare said as the US embassy urged its citizens to shelter in place and Britons were advised against travel to Mali.South of Bamako, people attempting to access the airport found themselves almost inside the combat zone, with heavy gunfire nearby and helicopters overhead, one passenger said.Two explosions and sustained gunfire were heard shortly before 6am (0600 GMT) near the main military base Kati, north of Bamako, and shots were still ringing out there more than four hours later, a Reuters witness and two residents said.Helicopters buzzed over Bamako and around the international airport and fighting was reported at a nearby military base in what is one of the most complex attacks the military has faced since seizing power.Witnesses reported intense fighting in a town near the capital where junta leader General Assimi Goita lives and other key cities in the nation, which has been stricken by more than a decade of religious militant conflict.Tuareg rebels in the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition said they had seized the northern city of Kidal.The Malian junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has labelled the FLA a “terrorist” group.A Malian army statement said that “terrorist groups, not yet identified, early this morning targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and the interior” of the country.”We call on the population to be vigilant. Our defence and security forces are engaged in annihilating the attackers,” the statement added.The fighting, which started at dawn, was still going Saturday afternoon on the outskirts of Bamako and in several other cities, particularly Kidal.African Union (AU) chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf denounced the violence, which risks “exposing civilian populations to significant harm”.Fighting was reported around Bamako, at Gao and Kidal in the north, as well as in the central city of Sevare.Heavy gunfire could be heard in the Bamako suburb of Kati, where Goita has his residence.As shooting and helicopters flew over Bamako, an army statement said that “the situation is under control”, adding that “several terrorists have been neutralised and equipment destroyed”.One resident said religious militants had taken a military camp in the Samakebougou neighbourhood of Kati and that there was “heavy” fighting.The junta chief’s whereabouts were unknown.There was also intense speculation over Defence Minister General Sadio Camara after residents said a powerful blast had destroyed most of his home in Kati.Camara’s entourage insisted that he was not present at the time and was “safe”.The streets of the capital were deserted amid sporadic firing, an AFP correspondent reported.The Tuareg FLA said in a Facebook statement: “The city of Kidal has come under the control of our armed forces.”An FLA spokesman, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, told AFP: “Our FLA troops control Kidal, most of Kidal.”The governor of Kidal has taken refuge with his men in the former camp of MINUSMA,” he added, referring to the former UN mission in Mali.The spokesman posted a photo on Facebook he said was a military camp in Kidal that had been occupied by “Russian mercenaries” and the Malian army.Mali’s junta is locked in struggles with both the FLA and religious militant groups.Observers say the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al Qaeda-linked group, has recently been seeking to join forces with the FLA.Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, which had been helping Malian forces fight religious militants since 2021, ended its involvement in June 2025.It has since become the Africa Corps, an organisation under the direct control of the Russian defence ministry.Since September, the JNIM has been attacking fuel tanker convoys heading for the capital, bringing Bamako to a standstill at the height of the crisis last October.Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals.However, since 2012, it has been grappling with a security crisis over attacks by religious militant groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group and community-based criminal groups and separatists.The military used the crisis to justify its takeover.The government, like its military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, has severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer politically and militarily to Russia.The junta had pledged to hand over power to civilians by March 2024, but in July 2025 granted Goita a five-year presidential term, renewable “as many times as necessary” and without an election.Thousands of people have died in attacks in Mali since the religious militant turmoil erupted.Tens of thousands of Malians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries in recent years.Saturday’s attacks signal a potential escalation in the insurgency.”This looks like the biggest co-ordinated attack for years,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation.Heni Nsaibia, senior West Africa analyst at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, highlighted the significance of Saturday’s targets, including Kati and Bamako which lie “at the heart of the regime” and Kidal, the site of a symbolic military victory in 2023 that has been central to the government’s “narrative of regaining territorial control”. 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Israeli occupation forces and settlers conducted 23,827 assaults on the Palestinians and their property in various governorates across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in 2025, a record upsurge in the number of assaults recorded in one year, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a report Monday.The report added that these attacks were distributed between 1,382 in the land and crops sector, 16,664 in the individuals sector, and 5,398 in the properties sector, with the occupation army carrying out 18,384 assaults, while the settlers carried out 4,723, and both parties together executed 720.The year 2025 had been heavily blood-soaked with maps and decisions as the occupation state didn’t stop at expanding settlement, but sought to expand the true meaning of control per se, as domination hadn’t been limited to land as a space, but went further to redefine geography, symbol, and the entire Palestinian existence, the Commission noted.The report added that the settler assaults have resulted in the slaying of 14 Palestinians since the beginning of the year, which explicitly caused 434 arson incidents against the property and gardens of the Palestinians.The occupation army and settlers conducted 892 assaults that were marked by uprooting, damaging, and poisoning as many as 35,273 trees, of them 26,988 olive trees, the report continued.It clarified that settler terrorism led to the displacement of 13 Palestinian Bedouin communities since the beginning of last year, consisting of 197 families including 1,090 individuals, from their places of residence to other locations.The occupation authorities carried out a total of 538 razings, resulting in the destruction of 1,400 facilities in an unprecedented upsurge, including 304 inhabited houses, 74 uninhabited houses, as well as 270 livelihood sources and 490 agricultural facilities, the report concluded, noting that the number of notifications delivered to Palestinians rose to 991.Regarding settlement expansion, the report noted that the occupation authorities last year seized an area of 5,572 dunums through 94 seizure orders for military purposes, 24 of which triggered the establishment of buffer zones around the settlements.The statistics showed that since the beginning of 2025, the occupation authorities’ planning committees studied a total of 265 master plans for the construction of 34,979 settlement units on an area of 33,448 dunums.The report outlined that 2025 marked an advanced stage in leveraging legal systems as a central tool to deepen the colonial scheme, with the Israeli occupation’s Knesset laying out a record number of draft legislation and legislative amendments.These moves, the report says, were explicitly intended to legitimize the colonial status quo, broaden the powers of settlers and their local councils, as well as consolidate the legal discrimination in managing lands, planning, and construction.This draft legislation included settling colonial outposts that had been enacted without previous government decisions, in addition to reinforcing the Israeli control over the West Bank territories through transferring additional civil discretion to the occupation’s institutions, the report highlighted.It stressed that the objective was to blunt the legal status of the Palestinian lands and their owners, such as the law to enable settlers to acquire land and property and to alter the names of Palestinian land to obsolete biblical names.Head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Mu’ayyad Shaaban, stressed that the current period requires an urgent national transition from risk description to building a comprehensive response to protect the Palestinian territory.This response, he noted, should be based on outright distribution of roles and integrated efforts between official institutions and the political and societal forces to restore the land’s status as the essence of the conflict.As such, Shaaban called for upgrading the popular resistance tools to ensure their continuity and effectiveness and be converted from seasonal and symbolic action into meaningful and organized ones.Shaaban emphasized the importance of building a national political and media rhetoric that redefines what is transpiring as a pure settlement colonization to replace the Palestinian territory.He concluded that all these measures fall under a consensus national vision to protect the Palestinian geography where the supreme national interest takes hold. Related Story Source link
Leaders Al Gharafa will be aiming for a swift return to winning ways as they face upbeat Umm Salal in the opening match of second leg of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) at the Al Khor Stadium today. Al Gharafa lost to Al Shahania in the previous round, which left them with 25 points. While they remain at the top of standings, they are aware that any further slip-up could complicate their position at the summit, making a strong response and early recovery crucial. “The upcoming match against Umm Salal is crucial. I am not happy with our previous-round performance against Al Shahania. However, I have witnessed a positive reaction from the players, demonstrated through their daily work and desire to put the past behind them, rediscover the team’s character and maintain its strength,” said Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins. “We now have a very important match ahead of us and we are aiming for a strong response to secure a victory. All these factors make the match challenging, but I have confidence in my players’ ability to deliver a strong performance against Umm Salal,” said Martins.Umm Salal are riding high after their valuable victory over Al Ahli in the last round, a win that has given them a significant boost before this challenging encounter. Umm Salal are currently in 10th place with nine points and seek to continue their winning streak, improve their position in the standings and gradually move away from the relegation zone. The match is an important test for both teams at the start of the round, between Al Gharafa’s desire to confirm their right to the top spot and Umm Salal’s ambition to build on their recent victory and deliver a strong performance that reflects their gradual return to their usual level. Umm Salal head coach Patrice Carteron has described the match as both important and challenging. Speaking at a pre-match press conference, the French coach said the match would be difficult for both teams, with each pushing for victory and the three points. Carteron said Umm Salal are fully prepared for the match and expressed hope of building on their recent momentum following a win over Al Ahli in the previous round. He stressed that his team will be playing for victory as they look to improve their position in the league table. In the other match of the day, Al Sailiya and Al Rayyan will meet in a crucial match at the Grand Hamad Stadium of Al Arabi club. The kick-off is at 7.30pm. This encounter holds particular significance for both teams. Al Sailiya, under the tutelage of Mirghani al-Zain, aiming for a strong start to the second leg of competition. Meanwhile, Al Rayyan, under the guidance of their Portuguese coach Artur Jorge, will be looking to maintain their title challenge. “The first half of the season was fantastic for us, but we must continue working hard to maintain our position at the top of the league. Currently, we are in the top four of the league and leading the QSL Cup and the Gulf Champions League. In the second half, we must try to maintain the same desire and enthusiasm to achieve even more and reach our goals for this season,” Jorge said. “We have several new players who have joined the team this season. Al Rayyan is one of the biggest club in Qatar, and we must approach every match with the aim of winning. Our objective in the upcoming match is to secure the three points. We must also avoid the mistakes we made in the first half. We have a different opponent, and we must play with the same mentality and achieve victory to start the second half of the season with an important win.” Al Sailiya currently sit in 11th place, second to last, with eight points, while Al Rayyan occupy fourth place with 20 points. TODAY’S SCHEDULE Al Gharafa vs Umm SalalAl Khor Stadium, 5.30pmAl Rayyan vs Al SailiyaGrand Hamad Stadium, 7.30pm Related Story Source link
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