Around 1,000 people rallied in Bamako to support Mali’s junta after deadly attacks by jihadists and Tuareg rebels weakened the regime
BAMAKO: Around 1,000 people gathered in Bamako on Saturday in support of Mali’s ruling junta, after last month’s unprecedented attacks by jihadists and Tuareg rebels against the military regime.
The coordinated attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) have left the government weakened.
Men, women and young people gathered on Saturday afternoon in the capital after the junta called for a “great patriotic mobilisation” in support of the country’s armed forces and the generals, who came to power in a 2020 coup.
Many of the demonstrators were draped in Mali’s green, yellow and red colours. Some held placards in support of the junta, an AFP journalist said.
The crowd chanted “Down with France” and “No to traitors from within”.
Several public figures also denounced the attacks, which killed a key figure in the junta, defence minister Sadio Camara.
Some 200 people also gathered on Saturday morning in the southern city of Sikasso in support of the military, administrative sources told AFP.
Since the attacks, the military has lost control of several areas in the north of the country, notably the key city of Kidal.
The jihadists have imposed a road blockade on various strategic routes leading to the capital since April 30.
Camara’s death, the attacks, the blockade and the loss of Kidal have dealt a serious blow to the junta and its leader, General Assimi Goita.
Several people, including opponents and soldiers, have been arrested in recent days in areas still under military control.
