In Mali, many questions persist in the aftermath of the attacks in Bamako

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) strongly condemned, on Wednesday, September 18, the jihadist attacks carried out the day before in Bamako, Mali, where a tense calm reigned and many questions persist.

One of them concerns the number of people killed in this operation claimed by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda, unprecedented for years in the Malian capital, while other regions are the target of almost daily attacks. Another question concerns the extent of the damage caused by these cleverly prepared acts of war, which saw the jihadists temporarily take control of part of the airport and which deal a severe blow to the argument of the ruling junta.

The general staff acknowledged on Tuesday evening “some loss of life”including student gendarmes killed in the assault on the gendarmerie school – one of the targets along with the military airport next to the civilian airport. The attack was repelled, the attackers “neutralized” and the situation “quickly mastered”he said. Other sources report much higher numbers of deaths. Despite official assurances, gunfire rang out for much of the day Tuesday.

The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), which claimed responsibility for the operation, released videos of its fighters roaming the presidential pavilion at the airport and setting fire to an aircraft from the official fleet. The authorities have not confirmed or denied that the plane of the junta leader himself, Colonel Assimi Goïta, was hit.

While the modus operandi remains to be determined, the GSIM reported via its communication channels that a few dozen of its men had caused hundreds of deaths and injuries in the enemy ranks, including members of the Russian Wagner group, allied with the military regime in Bamako. According to the jihadist group, its fighters completely destroyed six military aircraft, including a drone, damaged four others and disabled many vehicles.

The claims made by both sides remain difficult to verify in a context of renewed tension and access to information severely restricted by the military regime.

Flights resume

On Wednesday, businesses began to reopen around the gendarmerie camp. The main road that passes in front of the camp remained closed to traffic and armed police officers are guarding it. No damage is visible from the outside inside the camp. The Ministry of Transport announced on Tuesday afternoon that flights had resumed at Modibo-Keïta International Airport.

ECOWAS, with which Mali broke in January – at the same time as its Burkinabe and Nigerian neighbours – expressed in a statement its “firm condemnation” attacks. The three Sahelian countries, facing common problems and led by the military following successive putschs since 2020, accuse ECOWAS of not having supported them in the face of jihadism and of being subservient to the former French colonial power.

Tuesday’s attacks came a day after the first anniversary of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) they founded. On Sunday, the head of the Malian junta assured that this alliance had weakened “significantly the armed terrorist groups”. With Tuesday’s audacious attacks, GSIM intends to demonstrate that it strikes wherever it wants. The damage inflicted undermines the regime’s assurances, which claim to have reversed the trend after years of descent into hell thanks to multiple acts of rupture and the preference given to new partners, including Russia.

The GSIM is also trying to distance itself from the accusations of abuses against civilians that it has been subjected to and to position itself instead as a protector of the population by emphasizing those attributed to Malian soldiers and Wagner’s men. It thus claims to have carried out Tuesday’s attacks. “in retaliation for the hundreds of massacres committed by the ruling junta and its Russian allies against our Muslim people”.