This test also affects the future of the company. Wagner Russia, which the Council sought to support its war against terrorism, was unable to prevent the attacks from reaching Bamako.
Financial sources told Sky News Arabia that members of the group…Supporting Islam and Muslims“Al-Qaeda affiliated militants stormed the airport and set fire to a plane.
What happened?
- The attack targeted military sites of the army and the Russian Wagner Group, including: Modibo Keita Senou Airport International military, as video clips showed scenes of burning and destruction, including the burning of a civilian plane and the sabotage of airport facilities.
- The army spokesman announced that the operation targeted the military airport and the gendarmerie training center in the center of the capital, at dawn on Tuesday, and “caused heavy human and material losses, and the destruction of several military aircraft,” without mentioning details about the extent of the losses.
- “The situation is under control,” Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Oumar Diarra, told state television.
- For its part, the “Support for Islam and Muslims” group claimed responsibility for the attack, via its media website “Al-Zalaqa”, claiming that it had inflicted heavy losses of life and property.
- The army reportedly repelled the attack, killing more than 15 terrorists, including the leader of the attacking group.
- The airport attack is one of the largest operations carried out by the terrorist group in the Sahel region.
- The attack was followed by attacks targeting the Fulani ethnic group, some of whom are believed to belong to the extremist group.
Coming changes
According to Malian political analyst Hamdi Jawara, all the airport attackers, including their leader, a total of 15, were killed, noting that the attack took place near the Yerimajo and Falaji neighborhoods, where the terrorists managed to enter the airport and burn part of the presidential plane.
Jawara expected that this operation would have major political repercussions, such as leading to the overthrow of some officials in the security institutions, considering this to be the minimum that should be taken.
In the words of the financial analyst, “Anyone who seeks to destabilize financialDuring this transitional period, whether he is a terrorist or even a member of the military, he will face his inevitable fate.”
Expressing an opposing view of the government, Sid Ben Bella El Fardi, a representative of the Coordination of National Movements of Azawad, said that the details of the operation were still incomplete, but he added that the attack coincided with two official occasions: the first was the celebration of the unification of the “Sahel Alliance Group” and the other was Gendarmerie Day, and the attackers took advantage of these occasions to strike military and civilian targets.
He also pointed out that the situation on the streets was extremely tense, “as there was incitement to target and kill people with ethnic characteristics, such as: The Fulani Arabs and Tuaregs, and innocent people were killed and burned in the streets, even though they had nothing to do with the attack or its perpetrators.
According to Ben Bella, the losses of the attack included “the destruction of airport facilities and aircraft, and it was reported that a number of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries were killed.”
The future of the military council
Michael Shurkin, a researcher at the US security consultancy RAND Corporation, described the attack as “a dangerous development, as it shows that JNIM is capable of organizing an attack of this magnitude in the heart of the capital, despite the intensive efforts of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries.”
Shurkin points out that the attack showed that the group is focusing on large military targets, not on indiscriminate attacks against civilians.
Regarding the army’s statement about controlling the situation, he said: “The ruling military council may boast about its ability to stop the attack, but the reality is that the attack has already taken place, which raises questions about its impact on public opinion.”
He continued, clarifying this point: “It is important to follow up on whether this will lead to a decline in the citizens’ confidence in the military council, or will they mobilize more support for it,” and he saw that the clear message from the attack is that the Nusra group “is strong and has the ability to strike the government in its own home.”
symbolism of the presidential plane
Another thing he considered a powerful message was “setting fire to the presidential plane, which is a large 767, and although it is not a military plane, targeting it carries strong symbolism, especially since its purchase was linked to a previous scandal,” considering that the group used this to remind people of the “corruption” of the government.
Mali is led by a military council that took power in 2021, headed by Colonel Assimi Goitaafter a military coup.
After disagreements with the French forces present in Mali regarding counter-terrorism efforts and their departure from the country, the council sought the help of the Russian Wagner Company to repel terrorist groups, as well as rebels in the Azawad region in the north of the country, which Al-Qaeda used as a pretext to continue its attack against the government, considering it to be bringing foreign and non-Muslim forces to the country.
Since 2012, Mali has been engaged in extensive battles with rebels in Azawad, then with Al-Qaeda, represented by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, and later with ISIS, although their attacks have focused on the north and center of the country, and they have rarely been able to carry out major attacks in the capital.
