(Bamako) Tuesday’s jihadist attacks in Bamako left more than 70 dead and 200 injured, one of the heaviest human tolls in recent years in the ranks of Malian security forces.
These figures undermine the rhetoric of the junta in power since 2020, according to which its strategy of rupture, its new foreign partnerships and an increased military effort have made it possible to reverse the trend against the jihadists after years of descent into hell.
Beyond the shock and condemnations from all sides, many Malians have demanded accountability on social media for what they consider to be a security failure following the assault on the gendarmerie school and the military airport.
A security source reported 77 dead and 255 injured. An official confidential document authenticated reports a hundred dead, and cites 81 victims by name.
The general staff simply acknowledged “some loss of human life”, notably among student gendarmes, while various sources were already reporting a very high number of deaths.
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which claimed responsibility for the operation, assured through its communication channels that a few dozen of its men had caused hundreds of deaths and injuries in the opposing camp over a nine-hour period, including members of the Russian Wagner group, an ally of the military regime. Its fighters were then killed, it said.
A funeral ceremony was held behind closed doors in Bamako. In a rare response to an unprecedented event in a long time, authorities announced the closure of seven livestock markets in Bamako. Speculation has been rife that the jihadists may have hidden in one of these markets, which provide a large livelihood, before taking action.
The capital had not been the scene of such an operation since 2016, while other regions of the country are plagued by almost daily attacks.
The attacks came a day after the first anniversary of the Sahel States Alliance, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three countries facing jihadist expansion and plunged into deep crises.
The military regimes that have taken control of it through a series of coups since 2020 have broken the historic alliance with the former French colonial power, and have turned militarily and politically towards other partners, including Russia.
“Situating responsibilities”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, the government of Mali’s neighbour Senegal and the UK embassy condemned the attacks. The French embassy offered its condolences.
Jean-Hervé Jezequel, director of the Sahel project at the International Crisis Group, observes that “we have to go back a certain number of years” to find an attack of such scope in the capital. And “here, we are really in the heart of Bamako, on a gendarmerie school and especially on the international airport.”
One hypothesis is that “the jihadists are trying to signal to the Malian authorities that they can strike them anywhere and therefore that the big cities must also be protected,” and to ease the pressure in rural areas where the jihadists are most strongly established, he said.
The attacks have generally prompted declarations of unity in Mali in the face of the ordeal. In a context of severe restrictions on expression under the junta, almost no personality has spoken out to denounce a possible security failure by the authorities.
Rare dissonant voice, the everyday New Horizon rang out in one “the time to locate responsibilities at all levels”. Many Malians called for sanctions on the internet. On the contrary, the junta’s supporters have singled out the West, certain media and journalists, and even Ukraine for vindictiveness.
The attacks also raised fears of scores being settled against certain human groups due to community amalgamations.
“We can dismiss the policies of recent years which have always perhaps given too much priority to a military response,” says Jean-Hervé Jezequel, “alongside the military tool which remains indispensable, we must also put back on the front of the stage a response of a political nature, a political dialogue.”