France urges citizens to leave Mali ‘as soon as possible’ amid security concerns

The French Foreign Ministry on Wednesday recommended that its nationals temporarily leave Mali “as soon as possible."

“Following the attacks … in several locations across the country, including Bamako, the security situation remains extremely volatile,” the ministry said in a statement, advising French citizens to plan a departure using remaining commercial flights.

Paris urged its citizens still in the country to remain indoors and maintain contact with relatives. “If they must travel, they are urged to exercise the utmost caution,” the ministry said, calling on nationals to strictly follow instructions from local authorities.

The statement comes after a series of coordinated attacks by armed groups, including al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led rebel alliance, on Saturday across multiple cities, including the capital Bamako.

In an official statement read on Sunday by Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly on national television, the country’s transitional government confirmed the death of Defense Minister Sadio Camara in the attacks.

A suicide attacker driving a car detonated a vehicle-borne explosive device targeting the minister’s residence in Kati, a key military town near Bamako, it added.

Camara reportedly engaged in a firefight with the assailants and managed to neutralize several of them before being seriously wounded.

He was evacuated to a hospital, where he later died of his wounds.