Sadio Camara, Mali’s Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs, has died following the coordinated attacks carried out on April 25, according to an official statement broadcast on national television. Authorities say a suicide car bomb targeted his residence in Kati, near Bamako. The minister reportedly engaged the attackers in a firefight, neutralizing several before sustaining critical injuries. He later died in hospital. The explosion also caused significant destruction, including the collapse of part of his residence and damage to a nearby mosque, resulting in additional civilian casualties.
A central figure in Mali’s transition and a close ally of Assimi Goïta, Camara played a key role in the country’s security restructuring and its strategic partnership with Russia, notably through cooperation with the Africa Corps. The attacks, claimed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Front for the Liberation of Azawad, targeted multiple sites including the presidential residence, the defence ministry headquarters, and Modibo Keïta International Airport, as well as positions in Gao, Kidal and Sévaré. While authorities insist the situation is under control, a 72-hour curfew has been imposed in Bamako and security operations are ongoing. Regional bodies including ECOWAS and the African Union have condemned the attacks, as Mali prepares to honour the late minister with a state funeral.
