France urges citizens to leave Mali amid rebel attacks
France has issued its most urgent travel warning yet for Mali, calling on its nationals to leave the West African country immediately following a wave of coordinated attacks that have shaken the military government and left the security situation across the country deeply uncertain.
In an advisory released Wednesday, France’s foreign ministry told citizens to book seats on the next available commercial flight out, warning that conditions on the ground had become “extremely volatile.” Those still in the country in the meantime were told to stay indoors, limit movement, and keep family informed of their whereabouts.
“French nationals are advised to make arrangements to leave Mali temporarily as soon as possible on the commercial flights that are still available,” the ministry stated, adding that travel to Mali remained “strongly discouraged, regardless of the reason.”
Britain has taken the same position, telling its citizens to “leave immediately by commercial flight if you judge it safe to do so” and cautioning against any attempt to cross into neighbouring countries overland, a route it described as “too dangerous” given what it called “terrorist attacks along national highways.” The Foreign Office was blunt about the limits of what London can offer those who stay: “If you choose to remain in Mali, you do so at your own risk.”
The United States stopped short of an evacuation call but told its citizens to shelter in place, stay alert, and avoid any areas where security operations might be active.
The warnings follow a dramatic weekend that has rattled West Africa. On Saturday, explosions and gunfire broke out in multiple cities simultaneously, Bamako, Kati, Gao, Kidal, Sevare, and Mopti among them, in what appeared to be a carefully orchestrated assault. In Kati, home to a major military base outside the capital, Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in what is believed to have been a suicide bombing. In the north, separatist forces from the Azawad Liberation Front seized control of Kidal. Fighting reportedly continued into Sunday in both Kidal and Kati.
The assault involved two distinct armed groups operating in concert: the FLA, which is seeking an independent Tuareg state in the north, and JNIM, the jihadist group linked to al-Qaeda, which struck simultaneously at multiple locations across the country.
Mali’s military ruler, General Assimi Goïta, broke his silence on Tuesday evening, his first public appearance since the attacks, insisting the army had dealt a “violent blow” to the attackers and that the situation was under control. Operations, he indicated, were still ongoing.
Bamako’s international airport remains open, though travellers have been advised to verify the status of their flights before heading there.
The attacks represent the most serious challenge yet to Goïta’s junta, which came to power in a 2020 coup on promises to restore security and roll back armed groups. The government expelled French and UN forces after taking power, replacing them with Russian mercenaries, a security arrangement that has now faced its most visible test. Despite years of military operations, large swathes of northern and eastern Mali have remained beyond government reach, and Saturday’s events suggest the insurgency has found the reach and ambition to strike at the heart of the country itself.
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