In Early Morning Attack, Cities Awoke to Gunfire

Gunmen attacked several locations in Mali's capital and other cities early Saturday in a possible coordinated assault, residents and authorities said. Mali's army said in a statement that "unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks in the capital," per the AP. It added that soldiers were "currently engaged in eliminating the attackers." Mali has been plagued by insurgencies fought by affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.

An AP journalist in Bamako heard sustained heavy weapons and automatic rifle gunfire coming from Modibo Keita International Airport, around 9 miles from the city center, and saw a helicopter over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali's air force. A resident living near the airport also reported gunfire and three helicopters patrolling overhead. Residents in other cities in Mali reported gunfire and blasts on Saturday morning, suggesting a possible coordinated attack by armed groups. Gunmen entered the northeastern city of Kidal, taking control of some neighborhoods and leading to gunfire exchanges with the army, a former mayor of Kidal said.

The Azawad separatist movement has been fighting for years to create the state of Azawad in northern Mali. They once drove security forces from the region, before a 2015 peace deal that has since collapsed paved the way for some ex-rebels to be integrated into the Malian military. A rep for the Azawad Liberation Front said on social media that its forces had taken control of several areas of Kidal and the city of Gao. The AP couldn't independently verify his claim. A resident of Gao said gunfire and explosions started early Saturday and could still be heard in the late morning.

"The force of the explosions is making the doors and windows of my house shake. I'm scared out of my wits," the resident said. Mali, alongside neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, has long been battling armed groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS, a fight that has escalated over the past decade. Following military coups, the juntas in the three nations have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation there has worsened in recent times, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.