Mali in turmoil after insurgents seize towns and kill defence minister

Mali has been left reeling from sweeping attacks by jihadists and separatist rebels who seized several towns and military bases and killed the defence minister and military intelligence chief. The weekend assault on the west African state’s security architecture was coordinated by al-Qaida-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the separatist Tuareg-led movement Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) – former foes with distinct agendas. Sadio Camara. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/Reuters Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in an attack on his residence in the garrison town of Kati, the country’s junta-run government said. A spokesperson said a car laden with explosives was driven by a suicide attacker into his residence and that in an ensuing firefight Camara sustained injuries from which he later died in a hospital. The military intelligence chief Modibo Koné was reportedly also killed. The attackers used car bombs and armed drones in their assaults on Kati – a junta stronghold just outside the capital, Bamako – as well as the eastern city of Gao and central towns of Mopti and Sévaré. Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard near Modibo Keita international airport and the main military base at Kati. The airport was temporarily closed. Videos emerged on social media of jihadists laughing and relaxing at the residence of the governor of Kidal, a town 250 miles (400km) south of the Algerian border. The Guardian has not independently verified the footage. …