"Armed men who have not yet been formally identified attacked at least one gendarmerie camp in Bamako this morning," said a gendarmerie official on condition of anonymity.
The gunfire of varying intensity, interspersed with explosions, began around 5 a.m., AFP reported. Black smoke rose at daybreak from an area near the airport.
Mali, a poor and landlocked country facing the spread of jihadism and a deep multidimensional crisis since 2012, has been the scene of two putschs, in August 2020 and May 2021. It has since been governed by a junta led by Colonel Assimi Goïta. Following this, its neighbors, Burkina Faso and Niger, have also seen military forces seize power by force.
Mali remains the prey of attacks, but the capital has so far been spared.
