France has urged its citizens to leave Mali “as soon as possible,” warning that the country’s security situation remains “extremely volatile” following a wave of coordinated attacks that killed the defence minister.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the French Foreign Ministry advised French nationals to arrange departure using available commercial flights, citing escalating violence across multiple regions, including the capital Bamako.
Paris also called on those still in the country to remain indoors, maintain contact with relatives, and strictly follow instructions from local authorities. Any necessary travel should be undertaken with “utmost caution,” it added.
The warning comes after coordinated assaults carried out on Saturday by armed groups, including the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Azawad Liberation Front, targeting several locations across Mali.
In an official statement broadcast on national television, the transitional government confirmed that Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks.
Authorities said a suicide attacker detonated a vehicle-borne explosive device at the minister’s residence in Kati, a key military town near Bamako. Camara reportedly engaged the attackers in a firefight, killing several assailants before sustaining critical injuries.
He was evacuated to hospital but later died of his wounds.
The scale and coordination of the attacks have raised fears of further instability in Mali, where armed groups have intensified operations in recent months despite ongoing military efforts to contain the insurgency.
