The government of Mali has given details about how the country’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed, saying he died from injuries he sustained during an exchange of gunfire with the terrorists who attacked his home.
In an official statement read out on national television by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Brigadier General Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, who is also the government spokesperson, the transitional government said a suicide attacker driving a car detonated a vehicle-borne explosive device (VBIED) targeting the minister’s residence in Kati, a key military town near the capital Bamako.
Camara reportedly engaged in a firefight with the assailants and managed to ‘‘neutralise’’ several of them before being seriously wounded. He was evacuated to a hospital, where he later died of his wounds.
The government added that the collapse of the minister’s residence caused additional casualties and led to the destruction of an adjacent mosque, resulting in the deaths of several worshippers inside.
“In this painful circumstance, Gen Assimi Goita, president of the transition, head of state and supreme commander of the Armed Forces, the government and the Malian people, extend their most heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased,” the statement said, Anadolu Agency reported.
Condolences were also extended to all civilian and military victims of the 25 April attacks.
The attack occurred as part of a broader wave of coordinated assaults targeting military and strategic positions across Mali. The armed forces said operations are ongoing in Bamako, Kati and other areas to track down those responsible, adding that many terrorists have been “neutralised.”
Army Chief of Staff Gen Oumar Diarra said on national TV that in the wake of Camara’s killing, that terrorists orchestrated more than 20 attacks across the country.
He said Malian forces neutralised more than 200 terrorists and recovered a significant amount of military equipment.
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