Following the audacious jihadist attacks on Mali capital that killed scores of people, the Country Junta chief has met top military officials to review Strategy.
An Al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for last Tuesday’s attacks in the capital Bamako that targeted a part of the country’s main airport and a military police training camp, killing more than 75 people and injuring over 250, according to security sources.
This was disclosed after Monday’s meeting which provided an opportunity for an exhaustive review of security arrangements, a reassessment of the threat and the provision of additional guidelines”, the presidency said.
Mali’s military leader Colonel Assimi Goita in his first speech after the attacks on Saturday paid tribute to the victims and reiterated “the imperative need to remain vigilant and maintain an exemplary operational stance in all circumstances”.
Experts say the twin attacks dealt a forceful blow to the junta, which has been in power since coups in 2020 and 2021.
Many Malians have taken to social media to demand accountability for what they consider a security lapse.
The attacks came a day after junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso marked a year since the creation of their breakaway grouping, the Alliance of Sahel States.
The three countries, which have been under military rule following a string of coups since 2020, have broken ties with former colonial ruler France and turned militarily and politically towards other partners including Russia.
Mali’s leaders launched an extensive military operation in the north of the country where armed separatist groups and jihadists have lost control of several areas since last year.
In July, however, the army and its Russian allies suffered one of their biggest defeats.
Previously, France’s anti-jihadist Barkhane force, the United Nations stabilisation mission, MINUSMA, and European troops had contained the threat in the north.
