Global Pulse

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  • Trump and officials ‘likely’ targets of press dinner shooting suspect, authorities believe

    Trump and officials ‘likely’ targets of press dinner shooting suspect, authorities believe

    On Saturday evening, a suspected armed attacker opened fire near a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner was underway, triggering a chaotic evacuation and launching a federal investigation into an apparent assassination plot targeting sitting U.S. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials.

    Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed to reporters that preliminary investigations point to Trump and his top officials as the likely intended targets of the attack. The suspect has been identified by U.S. media as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a California native who lists his professional background as a mechanical engineer, game developer and educator on his public LinkedIn profile, and is an alumnus of the prestigious California Institute of Technology.

    The incident unfolded at approximately 8:35 p.m. local time, when gunshots echoed through the hotel’s foyer, just one floor above the packed ballroom where more than a thousand guests, including Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were gathered for the dinner. In accordance with established security protocols, Secret Service agents immediately rushed the president and other top officials off stage and to a secure location, locking down the ballroom before evacuating all attendees.

    Law enforcement officials confirmed that officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect before intercepting him. Allen was not hit during the confrontation, but was taken to a local hospital for mandatory psychological evaluation following his arrest. Investigators confirmed Allen was carrying two firearms and multiple knives at the time of the attack. One responding officer suffered a gunshot wound, but escaped severe injury thanks to his bulletproof vest, and has since been discharged from the hospital, per Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi.

    Multiple senior law enforcement officials have confirmed that Allen’s motive is still actively being investigated, with the FBI’s Criminal Division and national terrorism task force leading the probe. A senior U.S. official told CBS News that investigators have recovered written materials from Allen that explicitly state his intention to target senior members of the Trump administration. Prior to the attack, one of Allen’s family members contacted law enforcement after receiving these written materials, though the correspondence did not specifically mention the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as the planned site of the attack.

    Blanche added that investigators have traced Allen’s cross-country travel to Washington D.C., confirming he took a train from his home state of California, stopping in Chicago before continuing on to the nation’s capital. Law enforcement teams are currently searching a residential address in Torrance, California, linked to Allen to gather additional evidence. Allen is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Monday on charges of assaulting a federal officer and using a firearm during a violent felony offense.

    Shortly after the incident, Trump spoke to reporters from the White House, still dressed in his formal black tie dinner attire, and praised the quick action of the Secret Service that saved his life. “I can’t imagine that there’s any profession that’s more dangerous,” Trump told reporters, adding that “everyone in this room owes the Secret Service a tremendous debt of gratitude.” In a nod to the press corps in attendance, Trump also thanked journalists for their responsible coverage of the attack, and called on political opponents and the American public to resolve national differences through peaceful means.

    In a formal statement released Sunday, the White House emphasized that Trump remains “stands fearless” after surviving the assassination attempt alongside senior cabinet members. Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who was seated next to Trump during the dinner, also publicly thanked the Secret Service for their rapid response that “protected thousands of guests” and called the attack a harrowing ordeal. Jiang added that the association’s board will meet in the coming days to determine next steps for the dinner and will release public updates as they become available.

    Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Trump said that the suspect had “a lot of hatred in his heart for a while” and confirmed that Allen had left a written manifesto laying out his intentions. The incident has also prompted Trump to renew his push for a controversial plan to build a new classified ballroom at the White House, writing on his social platform Truth Social that the attack would not have occurred if the “Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction” had already been completed. The project has already faced a series of ongoing legal challenges from critics.

    This attack marks the third documented assassination threat against Trump since July 2024. The first attempt resulted in a bullet grazing Trump’s ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a second suspected gunman was intercepted at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf club in September 2024. Saturday’s dinner marked Trump’s first appearance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner since he took office for his second term; his last appearance at the annual press event was in 2011, when he attended as a private citizen.

    The attempted attack has drawn widespread international condemnation from world leaders. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “shocked” by the incident, adding that “any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “relieved” that Trump, the first lady, and all other attendees escaped unharmed, a sentiment echoed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said he was “pleased to hear” that no fatalities occurred at the scene.

  • No driver, no pilot, no problem

    No driver, no pilot, no problem

    For decades, a world fully powered by autonomous, unmanned systems was nothing more than a far-fetched science fiction concept: aircraft that fly without human pilots, passenger vehicles that navigate roads without drivers, and delivery services that ship goods via flying drones. Today, that futuristic vision has moved from the pages of speculative stories to real-world demonstration, right in the heart of Luogang Park in Hefei, the capital city of East China’s Anhui province.

    On April 24, two well-known international content creators, Oluwabunmi Jimoh and Joe Burns, traveled to the park to get a first-hand look at Hefei’s cutting-edge progress in the field of unmanned mobility. During their visit, the pair got up close to watch electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) autonomous aircraft complete test operations, experienced a fully hands-free trip around the park on a driverless electric shuttle bus, and got a close look at the efficiency of the park’s automated drone delivery network, which can drop off orders directly to visitors across the green space.

    The demonstration showcases how far China has advanced in developing and testing commercial-ready autonomous mobility solutions, positioning Hefei as a growing hub for innovation in the unmanned technology sector. Visitors and industry observers can access additional visual coverage of the event through a published original video to see the technology in action.

  • Death toll from bus bombing in southwest Colombia rises to 20 during a wave of violence

    Death toll from bus bombing in southwest Colombia rises to 20 during a wave of violence

    On a quiet Saturday along Colombia’s critical Pan-American Highway, a hidden explosive device ripped through a civilian passenger bus traveling through the municipality of Cajibio, leaving a trail of death and devastation that has shaken the South American nation. Regional authorities confirmed Sunday that the death toll from the attack has climbed to 20, with 15 women and five men counted among the fatal victims.

    Octavio Guzmán, governor of the hard-hit Cauca department, shared updated details on the social platform X, noting that 36 additional people were wounded in the blast. Three of those injured remain in intensive care, while five child victims are expected to make a full recovery, according to Guzmán’s update. Forensic teams have launched a full identification effort to confirm the identities of all those killed: Colombia’s Institute of Legal Medicine has deployed a multi-disciplinary team of specialists, including forensic dentists, anthropologists, and medical examiners, to process remains and notify next of kin.

    This deadly bombing is not an isolated incident. Over the past 72 hours alone, more than two dozen violent attacks have been recorded across southwestern Colombia, a long-troubled region marked by power struggles between illegal armed factions. These groups have long fought to control lucrative coca growing territories and strategic river and coastal smuggling routes that feed multi-billion dollar drug trafficking networks supplying Central American and European illicit drug markets.

    Top Colombian military leaders have labeled the attack a clear act of terrorism. Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s national Armed Forces, pinned responsibility for the bombing on two dissident factions originating from the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC): the network of Iván Mordisco, one of the country’s most-wanted fugitive leaders, and the Jaime Martínez faction, both of which maintain a heavy armed presence in Cauca.

    International bodies have joined in condemning the violence against civilian communities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a formal statement rejecting the attacks, calling on Colombian law enforcement and judicial authorities to launch a full, transparent investigation into the incident and ensure accountability and justice for all those affected. In response to the tragedy, Governor Guzmán announced a three-day period of national mourning across Cauca on Sunday to honor the lives lost in the attack.

  • Trump says shooting at press dinner ‘won’t deter him’ from Iran war

    Trump says shooting at press dinner ‘won’t deter him’ from Iran war

    A dramatic shooting incident outside the venue of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night triggered an emergency evacuation of former President Donald Trump and dozens of top ranking U.S. administration officials, leaving a Secret Service agent wounded and the high-profile event postponed indefinitely. The incident, which marks the third documented assassination attempt targeting Trump in less than a year, has sent shockwaves through Washington D.C.’s political circles even as authorities move forward with criminal charges against the identified suspect.

    Emergency response protocols were activated immediately after attendees reported hearing between five and eight gunshots ring out near the Washington Hilton’s banquet hall, where the dinner was already underway. Video footage captured from the scene shows White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and First Lady Melania Trump visibly stunned by the sudden gunfire, before security personnel rushed the pair offstage alongside Trump, who was pulled to the ground by his protective detail for safety.

    In an update to reporters shortly after the situation was contained, Trump confirmed that the suspected shooter had been taken into custody, labeling him a “lone wolf” and a “very sick person.” U.S. law enforcement later identified the 31-year-old suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a resident of Torrance, California. Washington’s police chief confirmed Allen was found armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, and preliminary investigations indicate he was registered as a guest at the Hilton hotel where the event was held. According to anonymous sources cited by CBS News, Allen told arresting officers he specifically intended to target senior Trump administration officials. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Washington has already filed initial charges of illegal firearms possession and assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, confirming that additional felony counts are forthcoming.

    One Secret Service agent was hit by gunfire during the incident, but survived unharmed after a bulletproof vest stopped the round, a detail Trump confirmed to reporters. In the hours after the evacuation, the former president drew controversy for posting an image on his Truth Social platform that showed a shirtless Allen lying face-down on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back.

    Addressing reporters after the incident, Trump sought to link the latest attempt on his life to his high-profile policy agenda, drawing a parallel between himself and iconic former President Abraham Lincoln. “They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much,” he told reporters Saturday evening. “I hate to say I’m honoured by that, but we’ve done a lot.” This incident marks the third documented assassination attempt against Trump since July 2024, when he narrowly escaped an attempt at a Pennsylvania campaign rally that left a bullet grazing his upper body. Two months after that rally attack, a second suspect armed with a rifle was arrested at Trump’s southern Florida golf course, and was ultimately sentenced to life in prison on attempted assassination charges.

    When asked if the shooting could be connected to ongoing U.S. military tensions with Iran, Trump initially said “you never know” but quickly walked back that suggestion to align with preliminary law enforcement findings. “I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” he stated. The former president went on to reaffirm his unwavering stance on U.S. policy toward Iran, saying the shooting would not deter him from advancing his priorities in the ongoing conflict. “It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran,” he emphasized. The comment came just hours after Trump confirmed he had canceled a planned trip by his diplomatic envoys to hold peace talks with Iranian officials, telling reporters Tehran could “call us” whenever it was ready to negotiate.

    Officials with the White House Correspondents’ Association confirmed the dinner would be postponed to a later date, with no new scheduling details released as of Sunday morning.

  • Former Italian PM: China and EU should cooperate to restore multilateralism

    Former Italian PM: China and EU should cooperate to restore multilateralism

    Against a backdrop of escalating global geopolitical fragmentation that has shaken the foundations of long-standing international cooperation, a former leader of Italy has issued a clear call for coordinated action between China and the European Union to rebuild the global multilateral system. In an exclusive interview with China Daily conducted on the sidelines of the 2026 Shanghai Forum, which brought together global policymakers and scholars from April 24 to 26, Enrico Letta — current dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs at IE University and former Italian Prime Minister — warned that the world is currently grappling with what he described as a major geopolitical ‘earthquake’ that threatens to unravel decades of collaborative progress. Letta stressed that this moment of global instability demands that two of the world’s largest economic and political actors, China and the EU, set aside differences and work in lockstep to reverse the retreat from multilateral cooperation. He specifically pushed back against the growing adoption of ‘law of the jungle’ power politics that has eroded trust between nations in recent years, reaffirming his strong commitment to upholding a rules-based international order anchored in the United Nations framework. The 2026 Shanghai Forum, which served as the stage for Letta’s remarks, has long functioned as a key platform for open dialogue between Asian and global stakeholders, making it a fitting venue for a discussion focused on repairing fractured international cooperation. Letta’s intervention comes at a time when growing unilateralism, trade tensions, and geopolitical rivalries have put the post-Cold War multilateral system under unprecedented strain, with many global leaders and analysts calling for renewed collective action to address shared challenges ranging from climate change to economic inequality.

  • Sickness, cold killed nearly 30 sloths at a Florida import warehouse in 2024 and 2025

    Sickness, cold killed nearly 30 sloths at a Florida import warehouse in 2024 and 2025

    A disturbing new report from Florida’s state wildlife regulators has uncovered the deaths of nearly three dozen sloths over a 14-month period at a central Florida animal import facility, caused by inadequate temperature control and substandard living conditions that violated basic wildlife care standards.

    The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s August 2025 inspection report details the first mass mortality event that unfolded in December 2024, when 21 three-fingered sloths imported from the South American nation of Guyana arrived at Sanctuary World Imports, an Orlando-based licensed animal import facility. At the time, unexpected cold snaps pushed indoor temperatures at the facility down to between 40 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit, a range far too cold for the temperature-sensitive tropical animals.

    Unlike most mammal species, sloths lack the ability to effectively self-regulate their internal body temperature, according to guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The agency notes that sloths require consistent environmental temperatures between 68 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain healthy bodily function. Temperatures below this range trigger a life-threatening state of hypothermia, commonly referred to as cold stunning in aquatic and tropical species.

    Peter Bandre, the individual listed as the facility’s licensed operator in state documents, acknowledged the lethal conditions to inspectors. He admitted that the warehouse facility where the sloths were housed was not prepared to receive the shipment: it had no running water, no active electrical service, and no insulation to retain heat. Even so, Bandre told regulators that canceling the import shipment was not an option once the animals were en route. The facility purchased portable space heaters to warm the space, but the units overwhelmed the building’s outdated electrical system, tripping a circuit breaker that cut off power and left the sloths without any source of heat for at least one full night. All 21 sloths subsequently died from cold-related hypothermia.

    The fatal incident was not an isolated failure, inspection records show. Just two months later, in February 2025, the facility accepted a second shipment of 10 sloths sourced from Peru. Two of the animals were already dead upon arrival at the facility. The remaining eight, visibly underweight and malnourished to the point of emaciation, succumbed to untreated chronic poor health in the weeks following their arrival, bringing the total death toll to 29 sloths over 14 months. State records also note that the facility had already cycled through two prior veterinary consultants, and Bandre told inspectors he was in the process of hiring a third to address the facility’s ongoing animal health issues.

    The Associated Press attempted to reach both Bandre and Sanctuary World Imports for comment multiple times following the release of the inspection report, but has not received a response.

    In follow-up inspections conducted in March 2026, state regulators documented significant changes to the facility’s operations and ownership. Benjamin Agresta, president of the original Sanctuary World organization, told inspectors that the business had been renamed Sloth World Inc., and that Bandre was no longer associated with the company in any capacity. The AP also attempted to contact Agresta and Sloth World Inc. for comment, and has not received a response as of publication.

    Inspectors noted during the March 2026 check that the facility where the 2024 mass mortality event occurred has since been upgraded with independent, dedicated heating and air conditioning systems that maintain a constant 82 degrees Fahrenheit, well within the optimal temperature range for sloth care. Regulators also reported observing no signs of neglect or health issues among the sloths currently held at the updated facility.

  • Domestic capital key to Africa’s development, report says

    Domestic capital key to Africa’s development, report says

    NAIROBI, Kenya – As global economic shifts reshape funding landscapes across the African continent, a landmark new analysis from the Africa Finance Corporation makes a clear case for reorienting development strategy around local capital, arguing that domestic financial pools must serve as the stable foundation for growth while foreign funding takes on a secondary complementary role. This framework comes as external financing to Africa has declined sharply in both total volume and consistency, creating an urgent need to unlock the continent’s own untapped financial resources.

    The report was officially unveiled Thursday during the Africa We Build Summit, a high-profile gathering focused on shaping the next decade of the continent’s development trajectory. It offers a decade-long comparative analysis of capital flows between 2014 and 2024, finding that cumulative external financing into the region totaled approximately $1.7 trillion over that 10-year period. By comparison, the report values non-bank domestic capital pools across Africa at more than $2 trillion – a sum that already outpaces total incoming foreign investment and development assistance.

    One of the report’s most striking findings is that Africa’s core development challenge has fundamentally shifted in recent years. Where previous decades were defined by struggles to attract enough total capital to fund large-scale projects, the contemporary barrier now lies in capital intermediation: the work of converting existing domestic savings into large, productive investments in critical infrastructure, growing industrial sectors, and job-creating enterprise. This shift reflects the rapid growth of domestic institutional capital that has already occurred across the region.

    Data included in the analysis shows that domestic institutional capital has expanded dramatically in recent years, with combined pension and insurance assets crossing the $1 trillion threshold for the first time in the continent’s history. Additional figures break down the scope of existing domestic capital: public development bank assets across Africa total $276 billion, sovereign wealth funds hold $164 billion in assets, and central bank reserves grew from $480 billion in 2024 to $530 billion in the most recent reporting year.

    Much of this recent growth in central bank reserves has been driven by stronger commodity market performance and a continent-wide push to increase gold holdings. Today, gold makes up roughly 17 percent of Africa’s total central bank reserves, up from less than 10 percent in the 2022–2023 period. Total physical gold holdings across African central banks rose from 663 metric tons in 2022 to an estimated 738 tons last year, according to the report.

    Against this growth of domestic capital, external financing has become increasingly volatile and constrained. Official development assistance, a key source of public project funding for many low-income African nations, fell from $84 billion in 2020 to $74 billion in 2023, and projections point to further declines in coming years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development confirms the broader downward trend, estimating that global development aid fell by 23 percent last year – the largest single-year contraction ever recorded.

    The report’s conclusions frame the growth of domestic capital as a transformative opportunity for African nations to take greater ownership of their development agendas, reducing reliance on unpredictable global funding streams and aligning investments more closely with local development priorities.

  • Smoking dispute resolved amicably in Shenzhen

    Smoking dispute resolved amicably in Shenzhen

    A public dispute that sparked widespread online discussion over enforcement of China’s strict anti-smoking regulations has been resolved amicably between the two involved parties, an official joint investigation confirmed Saturday. The confrontation unfolded Friday evening at a non-smoking designated bus stop in Guangming District, Shenzhen, a southern Chinese metropolis known for enforcing the toughest tobacco control rules in the country.

    The clash erupted between 29-year-old Wang and 33-year-old Chen around dusk, after an attempt by one party to intervene in Chen’s smoking at the restricted public space escalated into mutual conflict. According to the investigation’s official account, Wang first poured her juice onto Chen’s cigarette-holding right hand and discarded her plastic cup onto the nearby road. In retaliation, Chen picked up the discarded cup and threw it back toward Wang. Bystanders contacted local law enforcement, who responded promptly to the incident.

    The confrontation quickly went viral on Chinese social media, spurring intense public debate across multiple key issues. Online commentators questioned whether Chen should face formal penalties for violating smoking bans, whether Wang’s counteraction was excessive relative to the initial offense, and whether law enforcement had overstepped procedural boundaries after Wang shared details of the police processing on her personal social media accounts.

    To address widespread public concern and clarify the facts of the case, local authorities assembled a joint investigation team drawing representatives from Guangming District’s health authority, public security bureau, transport department, and subdistrict office. Investigators confirmed that both parties initially demanded legal action be taken against the other, so officers transported them to a formal case handling center to complete the investigation process. In compliance with standard operational protocols, law enforcement conducted mandatory personal safety checks, with a female staff member completing Wang’s screening in a private, enclosed space to protect her privacy.

    Responding to public questions regarding the application of local smoking rules, the investigation’s official statement confirmed that Chen had violated Shenzhen’s longstanding smoking control regulations, which strictly ban smoking in all public spaces including covered and open bus stops. The local transport enforcement department has formally issued a correction order to Chen and imposed an administrative fine for the violation, bringing the public interest case to a close while upholding the city’s strict tobacco control framework.

  • Italian soccer rocked by another refereeing scandal as head of referees Rocchi faces fraud probe

    Italian soccer rocked by another refereeing scandal as head of referees Rocchi faces fraud probe

    Italian soccer is grappling with yet another high-profile crisis, this time a criminal investigation into top refereeing officials for alleged sports fraud, coming just weeks after the men’s national team suffered a devastating third consecutive failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

    Gianluca Rocchi, the chief of refereeing operations for Italy’s top two men’s divisions, Serie A and Serie B, has been named in a criminal probe connected to claims of match influence through referee selection and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) manipulation. He will make his first court appearance in Milan this Thursday. Andrea Gervasoni, a senior VAR supervisor working alongside Rocchi, is also facing the same criminal investigation.

    In response to the investigation announcement, Rocchi has voluntarily stepped back from his official post pending the outcome of the judicial process. He stands accused of two key violations: manipulating VAR match decisions and altering pre-assigned referee selections for high-stakes fixtures to favor specific clubs.

    Serie A president Ezio Simonelli released an official statement addressing the unfolding scandal, emphasizing the league’s core commitment to upholding transparency and fair play across all competitions. “Trusting in the work of the competent judicial bodies, it cannot be a notice of investigation that calls into question the intellectual honesty and the work of an entire system,” Simonelli said. “If it turns out that someone made a mistake, it will be right for them to pay. But it is never allowed to question the credibility of the system and the regularity of the championship.”

    The investigation centers on incidents that occurred during the ongoing 2024-25 Serie A season. One specific incident under scrutiny is the March 1, 2025 league match between Udinese and Parma, where Rocchi allegedly intervened in VAR operations by banging on the window of the VAR officiating booth and pressuring officials to conduct an on-field review of a potential penalty call.

    Italian media reports have also outlined a second line of inquiry into Rocchi’s referee assignment process. Investigators are examining claims that he re-assigned a scheduled referee for an Inter Milan fixture to an official alleged to be more favorable to the Nerazzurri, the club’s popular nickname. Inter Milan, which finished the 2024-25 season just one point behind eventual champions Napoli, has not been implicated in any wrongdoing connected to the alleged incident.

    The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) previously opened an internal disciplinary probe into the Udinese-Parma VAR incident last year, but ultimately dismissed all proceedings against Rocchi in July. The scandal has now been reignited after Milan judicial authorities launched the formal criminal investigation, bringing fresh scrutiny to Italian soccer’s governing structures.

    FIGC Prosecutor Giuseppe Chiné confirmed that the federation is maintaining close communication with Milan’s public prosecutor’s office, and has stated that the governing body will reconsider reopening its own internal investigation if new, credible evidence emerges from the criminal probe.

    This latest controversy arrives at a moment when Italian soccer is already reeling from institutional upheaval. Earlier this month, the men’s national team failed to qualify for its third straight World Cup, a historic slump that forced the immediate resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and national team head coach Gennaro Gattuso. Sports analysts note that the new refereeing scandal has deepened public distrust in Italian soccer’s governance, compounding the damage from the national team’s repeated international failures.

  • Russian mercenaries to withdraw from northern Mali city

    Russian mercenaries to withdraw from northern Mali city

    Mali has been plunged into a new wave of deadly violence following a sweeping series of coordinated attacks carried out by separatist insurgents and jihadist militants across the country on Saturday, which has left top officials dead, triggered major military clashes, and shifted control of a strategic northern city. The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist group fighting to establish an independent ethnic Tuareg state in northern Mali, announced that Russian mercenaries deployed by Mali’s ruling military junta have agreed to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal following two days of intense urban fighting. The FLA now claims full control of Kidal, a city that served as the separatist movement’s unofficial headquarters for more than a decade before Malian government forces backed by Russian mercenaries seized control of it in late 2023.

    The wave of violence began Saturday, when the FLA joined forces with multiple armed groups to launch synchronized assaults across Mali, stretching from the capital Bamako to northern and central regions. The assault targeted a range of key sites, including Kati, a major military base located just outside Bamako, the northern cities of Gao and Kidal, and the central Malian hubs of Sevare and Mopti. According to regional analysts, the assault was split between two sets of attackers: the FLA focused its operations on key northern population centers, while the al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) carried out parallel strikes across multiple locations nationwide.

    Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali, described the coordinated assault as the largest unified jihadist attack on Mali in several years. One of the most shocking developments to emerge from Saturday’s violence was the reported death of Mali’s Defence Minister Sadio Camara, who was killed in a car bomb attack on his convoy near Kati. Multiple news agencies, citing confirmation from Camara’s family and French media, reported that the attack also killed at least three of his family members. The Malian government has not officially confirmed Camara’s death, but military officials have acknowledged ongoing fighting across multiple regions.

    On the ground in Kidal, FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane noted that the city was not fully captured during Saturday’s initial attacks, as small contingents of Malian army troops and Russian mercenaries remained holed up in parts of the city. Clashes between FLA fighters and pro-government forces resumed in Kidal on Sunday, but just hours after fighting restarted, Ramadane announced a breakthrough: a deal had been reached to allow Russian mercenaries, now part of the officially recognized Africa Corps, to withdraw from Kidal under secure conditions. Shortly after Ramadane’s social media announcement, the FLA confirmed that its fighters were escorting the withdrawing Russian mercenary contingent out of the city’s boundaries. One FLA field commander who participated in the offensive told the BBC that the group had spent months planning the assault, and that its next objectives are to seize control of Gao before moving on to Timbuktu, which the commander claimed would fall easily.

    Mali’s state broadcaster ORTM has given a far more muted account of the violence, reporting that only 16 people – a mix of civilians and soldiers – were injured in the attacks, which it said caused only limited damage. The broadcaster also claimed that multiple “terrorists” had been killed in government counterattacks, and that the situation across all affected areas is “completely under control.” Despite the government’s claims, Malian military officials confirmed in an official statement Sunday that fighting is still ongoing in Kidal, Kati, and other regions across the country. The statement warned that the recent wave of violence would “not go unanswered,” and announced that a nationwide security alert had been issued. Authorities have stepped up large-scale patrols, reinforced border and urban checkpoints, and imposed curfews in multiple high-risk areas. In Bamako, a curfew is in effect from 21:00 local time to 06:00 GMT, scheduled to expire Monday.

    The international community has quickly condemned the surge in violence. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres released a statement condemning the “acts of violence” and expressed his solidarity with the people of Mali. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African regional bloc that Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso left following a string of military coups that brought military juntas to power in all three nations, also issued a formal condemnation. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chair of the African Union Commission, said he was monitoring the rapidly evolving situation with deep concern.

    Mali has been mired in continuous instability for more than a decade. The FLA has waged a long-running separatist campaign for an independent Tuareg homeland in northern Mali, and currently holds de facto control over large swathes of that territory. The country is currently ruled by a military junta led by General Assimi Goïta, who first seized power in a 2020 coup after widespread public anger over the government’s failure to contain the insurgency. The junta claimed it would restore security and push back against armed groups, and initially enjoyed broad popular support for its promise to resolve the long-running crisis that began with the 2012 Tuareg rebellion, which was later hijacked by transnational Islamist militant groups. After the junta took power, UN peacekeepers and French counter-insurgency forces that had been deployed to Mali withdrew from the country, and the military government turned to Russian mercenaries to support its counter-insurgency operations. Despite this partnership, the jihadist insurgency has only expanded, and large portions of northern and eastern Mali remain outside of government control.