VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned a new wave of attacks in Africa&#39;s <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mali-junta-defense-minister-killed-in-attack-near-bamako-family" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sahel region</a>, particularly in Mali and Chad, after dozens of people were killed by militantgroups. &quot;I have learned with concern of the reports of increasing violence in the Sahel region, particularly in Chad and Mali, which have been hit by recent terrorist attacks,&quot; said Pope Leo following his Regina Coeli prayer in St Peter&#39;s Square. &quot;I offer my prayers for the victims and express my solidarity with all those who are suffering. I hope that all forms of violence will cease, and I encourage every effort toward peace and development in that beloved land.&quot; On Saturday, security sources said dozens of people in central Mali had been killed the day before by an Al-Qaeda-linked group that had already killed at least 30 people in attacks on villages earlier on Wednesday. In Chad, Boko Haram killed at least 26 army personnel last week, prompting the government on Thursday to declare a 20-day state of emergency in the Lady Chad region.

This photo taken and handout on May 10, 2026 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV during Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican. (AFP)

Africa

Pope Leo XIV condemns militant attacks in Mali and Chad and offers prayers for victims amid rising violence across Africa’s Sahel region.

Pope condemns fresh violence in Sahel after dozens killed

BAMAKO: Mali&#39;s defense minister died after an attack on his house, his family said Sunday, as the army fought a second day of battles with separatist rebels near the capital Bamako and other cities, putting the Sahel nation&#39;s ruling junta under severe pressure. Defense Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren died after a car bomb attack on his home in the junta stronghold of Kati, outside Bamako, his family and an official said. Saturday&#39;s shock attacks, synchronized by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country. Fighting resumed Sunday in several areas, including Kati, Kidal, Gao and Severe. Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali&#39;s army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was &quot;totally&quot; under their control. &quot;An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday,&quot; a Tuareg official told AFP. &quot;We saw a military convoy leave, but don&#39;t know the details of what&#39;s happening ... Fighters from armed movements have now taken over the streets,&quot; a resident added. Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army backed by Russia&#39;s Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of control by rebels. The FLA also claims to have taken positions in the northern Gao region. &quot;The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol,&quot; a security source told AFP on Sunday. Mali has been ravaged for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence but Saturday&#39;s attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power. They took place on the fringes of the Malian capital Bamako and in several towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel nation. Residents on edgeThe fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers wounded and caused &quot;limited material damage,&quot; the government said in a statement on Saturday evening. It added that &quot;the situation is totally under control in all the localities&quot; that were attacked. In the capital, access to military facilities has been blocked by barriers and tyres on the roads, an AFP journalist said. In the outlying district of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was jittery. &quot;I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It&#39;s traumatising,&rdquo; a resident said. Kati was calm after &quot;the jihadists left the area, but we are living in fear,&quot; a resident told AFP on Sunday. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned &quot;acts of violence&quot; in Mali. &quot;The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali,&quot; his spokesman said in a statement. &quot;The Secretary-General calls for coordinated&nbsp;international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to&nbsp;meet urgent humanitarian needs,&quot; spokesman Stephane Dujarric added. The European Union on Sunday condemned the &quot;terrorist attacks&quot; in Mali. Russia&#39;s Africa Corps, an organisation under direct control of the Russian defence ministry, has taken over from the mercenary Wagner group in helping Malian forces fight jihadists. Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals. Mali&#39;s rulers, like their military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.&nbsp;

Jihadist fighters kills the Mali junta's Defense Minister General Sadio Camara with a car bomb left outside his residence near the capital Bamako

Articles tagged with "Mali Junta"

Pope condemns fresh violence in Sahel after dozens killed

Mali junta defense minister killed in attack near Bamako: Family