The leader of Mali's military government, Assimi Goita, comforts a relative of Defense Minister Sadio Camara, who was killed in Saturday's attacks, in a location given as Bamako, Mali, in this handout photo released on April 28, 2026. MALI PRESIDENCY VIA FACEBOOK/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
A blockade has been declared around Bamako. Four days after pro-independence rebels from Mali's north and fighters from the Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM, affiliated with Al-Qaeda) group launched coordinated attacks against the country's ruling junta on Saturday, April 25, JNIM announced that they were putting the Malian capital under siege. "Starting today, we are blocking Bamako (...) No one will enter anymore," said one of the jihadists' spokespersons, Bina Diarra, on Tuesday, April 28, in a Bambara-language video message which the group published on its propaganda channels.
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Jihadists shake Mali junta with unprecedented attack
The group presented the encirclement of the capital city, which Le Monde was unable to independently verify, as an action conducted in retaliation against the hostility of some of Bamako's residents. "When our men began to withdraw [in the afternoon on Saturday], the population helped the army capture and kill some of our jihadists," Diarra said. The spokesperson also called "on all Muslims and all Malians" and "any soldier who values their life" to join the jihadists in their efforts to apply "the religion of Almighty God" and "build the country in peace and dignity."
