The move comes days after General Assimi Goita vowed to neutralize those responsible for the April 25 assaults
Mali’s transitional president, General Assimi Goita, has taken over the duties of defense minister after Sadio Camara, who had held the post, was killed in a wave of coordinated attacks by militants, the authorities have said.
A presidential order published in the West African nation’s Official Gazette on Monday said Goita will remain head of state while assuming the defense portfolio.
“The president of the transition, head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces, shall perform the duties of Minister of Defense and Veterans,” it stated.
A separate decree named General Oumar Diarra as minister delegate for defense, placing him under the ministry now led by Goita.
Former Defense Minister Camara died after a suicide car bomb struck his residence in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako, on April 25. The offensive targeted Bamako, Kati, Gao, Sevare, and Kidal, and was claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front.
Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga said the militants sought to seize power, destabilize state institutions, and derail the country’s political transition.
The government stated that the army, backed by Russia’s Africa Corps, repelled attempts to seize military sites and key infrastructure. The Russian Defense Ministry said the assault amounted to an attempted coup and claimed that the attackers received training involving Ukrainian and European mercenary instructors. More than 200 militants were killed and large quantities of equipment seized, according to Mali’s army.
In a televised address last week, Goita vowed to neutralize those responsible for the recent assaults.
Mali has battled a jihadist insurgency since 2012, a conflict that has spread into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. The three military-led states formed the Alliance of Sahel States after cutting defense ties with France, expelling French troops, and accusing Paris of sponsoring terrorism in the region. The Sahel states have since turned to Russia for support in combating terrorism.
