Mali’s defence minister has been killed in an apparent suicide truck bombing at his residence near the capital, Bamako. Multiple news outlets reported the death of Sadio Camara, part of a wave of coordinated attacks by jihadist militants and separatists carried out across the country.

 

State TV confirmed the death several hours later, saying he died of wounds received while engaging with the attackers. Further north, Russian mercenaries hired by Mali’s military agreed to withdraw from Kidal after two days of clashes, the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) group said.

 

For years, Mali has been plagued by insurgencies by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, the Islamic State group, and the FLA. Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly read out a statement yesterday saying Camara was killed when a vehicle laden with explosives and driven by a suicide attacker targeted the minister’s residence.