Funeral services for Mali’s defence minister, who was killed in an assault on his home during attacks that have destabilised the country’s ruling junta, will take place on Thursday, according to the military.
Sadio Camara — seen as the mastermind behind the junta’s pivot to an alliance with Russia — was killed in two days of fierce fighting over the weekend, which pitted the army against separatists and jihadists.
The Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) carried out the large-scale attacks that targeted multiple locations.
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Junta leader Assimi Goita will attend Camara’s funeral, which will be held at 10:00 am local time (1000 GMT) at the Military Engineering Parade Ground and will include a military parade before the body, according to a document from the armed forces’ chief of general staff.
Tight security is expected given the current situation in Mali.
Camara died as a result of an attack at his residence in Kati, a garrison town near the capital, Bamako, which is home to several senior junta officials and was targeted in the attacks.
During the assault, the separatists and jihadists were able to capture the key northern town of Kidal, and also targeted Gao in the mostly desert north along with Mopti and Sevare in the centre, plus areas around Bamako.
The 47-year-old Camara died when a “car bomb driven by a suicide bomber” targeted his residence, the Malian government said.
In an address to the nation Tuesday evening, Goita paid tribute to a “valiant officer” whose “passage constitutes an immense loss” for Mali.
The government declared two days of mourning following Camara’s death.
AFP
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