BAMAKO, April 28 (Reuters) – The leader of Mali’s military government, Assimi Goita, met on Tuesday with the Russian ambassador, according to a social media post from his office, his first public appearance since insurgents carried out simultaneous attacks on Saturday.
West Africa’s al Qaeda affiliate and a Tuareg-dominated separatist group hit Mali’s main army base and the area near Bamako’s airport, while driving Russian soldiers, who were deployed in support of government forces, out of Kidal in the north.
Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, died in the assault, while Goita had not been seen until the social media post published on Tuesday afternoon.
The scale and the scope of the offensive on multiple sites across the vast West African country demonstrated an unprecedented ability to coordinate fighters from different groups with different goals and strike at the heart of the military government.
Mali’s military government has said the situation is under control.
(Reporting by Mali newsroom and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Bate Felix)
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