Nearly ten days after the death of Minister Sadio Camara in a suicide bombing during unprecedented attacks carried out by an alliance of separatists and jihadists, the Malian authorities announced Monday that the head of the junta, Assimi Goïta, would combine his functions as president with those of Minister of Defense.

Published on: 05/04/2026 - 5:00 p.m. Modified on: 05/04/2026 - 6:10 p.m.

The head of the junta in Mali, Assimi Goïta, will combine his functions as president with those of Minister of Defense to replace Sadio Camara, killed on April 25 during unprecedented attacks by jihadists and Tuareg rebels against the military regime, according to a decree read Monday May 4 on public television ORTM.

Mali faces a critical security situation and is prey to uncertainty and excitement after these attacks during which General Camara, one of the pillars of the junta, died. President Goïta "performs the functions of Minister of Defense and Veterans", according to this decree published nine days after the death of Sadio Camara.

These attacks were carried out by jihadists from the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim, affiliated with Al-Qaeda) with rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a predominantly Tuareg independence movement, against several positions of the junta in power since 2020 in several cities, including the capital, Bamako, and its neighbor, Kati, stronghold of the junta, but also in Kidal (north), stronghold of Tuareg rebels, Sévaré (center) and Gao (north).

Also read: In Mali, a convenient alliance between jihadists and separatists facing “a common enemy”

Assisted by a former chief of staff

President Goïta "assumes the functions of Minister of Defense and Veterans", according to the decree read by a presenter on ORTM on Monday, nine days after the death of General Camara.

He will be assisted in this new function by the former Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Oumar Diarra, appointed "minister delegate to the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs", according to a separate decree also read on the ORTM.

Former head of the army under the regime of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (2013-2020), General Diarra was arrested at the same time as several senior army officers during the coup that overthrew the head of state in August 2020.

He was then appointed chief of staff of the armed forces in September 2020 by the military who came to power a few weeks earlier.

Mali has been facing a profound security crisis since 2012, fueled in particular by the violence of jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) organization, as well as community criminal groups and separatists.

With AFP

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