BAMAKO, Mali (AP) 鈥� Mali鈥檚 junta leader met with Russia鈥檚 ambassador to Bamako on Tuesday, authorities said, his first public appearance since by Islamic militants and separatists over the weekend. Russia, the junta’s key ally, called the attack a coup attempt.
The office of the military leader, 鈥婣ssimi Goita, released photos showing him meeting a Russian delegation led by the Ambassador Igor Gromyko in what appeared to be the presidential palace in Bamako, the Malian capital.
Later on Tuesday evening, Goita gave a televised address in which he vowed that military operations would continue. They were his first live comments since the coordinated attacks.
鈥淢ilitary operations will continue until the armed groups involved have been completely neutralized and security has been sustainably restored throughout the country,鈥� he said in the short address.
Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Mali issued a security alert, citing 鈥減ossible terrorist movements within Bamako, including reports of forced school closures.鈥�
In power since a 2020 coup, the junta suffered after al-Qaida-linked militants and the separatist Azawad Liberation Front group staged coordinated attacks on at least four cities in a region considered a global hot spot for terror-related deaths.
The near-simultaneous attacks struck Bamako’s international airport, the nearby garrison town of Kati and several northern and central cities, including Kidal and Sevare.
The separatist group Azawad Liberation Front said its fighters eventually seized Kidal, after Malian and Russian forces withdrew from there. in the attacks.
Three days later, who was in control in areas that came under attack and the extent of casualties from the fighting remained unclear.
In his address, Goita alleged that foreign powers were aiding the various groups in their attacks.
“These attacks are not isolated incidents; they are part of a broader destabilization campaign devised and carried out by armed terrorist groups and their internal and external sponsors, who provide them with intelligence and logistical support.鈥�
Bamako was on edge, and some residents said they were worried about their safety.
Russia鈥檚 Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, denounced the weekend attacks as a coup attempt and claimed it was foiled by Russian forces 鈥� the Africa Corps that provides support to Mali’s junta 鈥� in partnership with Malian security forces.
A ministry statement said around 12,000 attackers carried out the offensive using sophisticated weapons, detailing how military aircraft were deployed in support of ground forces using 鈥渁ll types of weapons鈥� to pursue the attackers.
It confirmed the withdrawal from Kidal as a decision by the Malian government and said that units stationed in the northern city had “fought for more than 24 hours in full encirclement against vastly superior enemy forces and repelled four massive attacks on its main stronghold and outer defensive positions.鈥�
The Malian government has not provided any detailed account of the attacks and The Associated Press could not independently verify the Russian account.
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