Mali holds funeral for key junta figure killed in militant assaults

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A funeral was held Thursday for Mali 's former defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, a key architect of the military government’s security partnership with Russia.

Camara was killed during last weekend's coordinated militant attack in the West African nation, the largest in over a decade.

His death, and the major setback endured by the Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies, risk creating divisions within the junta and could lead it to reconsider its partnership with Moscow, analysts say.

After two days of national mourning, a funeral ceremony for Camara was attended by junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita and broadcast live on national television. The coffin was draped in the green, yellow and red of the Malian flag while large portraits of the former defense minister lined the ceremony hall.

Camara was born in 1979 in Kati, the same garrison town near the capital Bamako where he was killed when a car bomb exploded outside his home on Saturday.

As a field officer, he was deployed to northern Mali in the late 2000s, amid a rise in rebellions by armed groups, some linked to Al-Qaeda. After graduating from a military academy, he went abroad on several training assignments, including at a military academy in Russia.

Malians first became familiar with Camara when, as a colonel, he appeared on national television in August 2020 among a group of five officers who had overthrown President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The officers accused Keita of being propped up by France and not doing enough to contain the rampant militant attacks in the country. They pledged to provide more security.

Following the coup, the new junta turned to Russia as its new security partner, expelling French troops and U.N. peacekeepers.

Camara quickly came to play a central role in establishing Russia as Mali's main security partner. He served as defense minister under both of Mali’s successive military governments — first following the 2020 coup and then reappointed after a second coup in May 2021 which brought Goïta to power.

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Germany-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said Camara was the “architect of cooperation with Russia,” proposing the deployment of Russian mercenaries in 2021 and the expulsion of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA.

Camara, who made frequent trips to Moscow, played a key role in the coups and his stewardship of the war effort made him an indispensable figure for the junta despite a deteriorating security situation, according to Laessing.

On Monday, the recently created Africa Corps — a Russian military unit that reports to the defense ministry in Moscow, estimated to have around 2,000 troops in Mali — said its fighters had withdrawn from Kidal, two days after separatists said they had taken the key northern city.

Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank, said Camara's death and a growing frustration from the population and military leadership over the Russian mercenaries inability to curb the insurgencies, could result in the junta reconsidering its partnership with Moscow.

Goita, who met with the Russian ambassador to Mali on Tuesday, “seems open to collaboration with some Western countries, such as the United States,” said Laessing.

Soldiers wait for the start of the funeral for Mali's former defense minister Sadio Camara at the Military Engineering Parade Ground in Bamako, Mali, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Boubacary Bocoum)

Soldiers wait for the start of the funeral for Mali's former defense minister Sadio Camara at the Military Engineering Parade Ground in Bamako, Mali, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Boubacary Bocoum)

Mali's junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita attends the funeral of former defense minister Sadio Camara at the Military Engineering Parade Ground in Bamako, Mali, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Boubacary Bocoum)

The flag draped casket that contains the remains of Mali's former defense minister Sadio Camara during a funeral ceremony at the Military Engineering Parade Ground in Bamako, Mali, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Boubacary Bocoum)

FILE - Mali's Defense Minister Sadio Camara enters a hall for a talk in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 28, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Formula 1's return from an unplanned month long hiatus is not only a time to see how rules tweaks will work, it offers an opportunity for Apple TV to have a second launch in its first year as F1’s U.S. broadcast partner.

Add into it that this weekend's race is in Miami — traditionally one of the most-viewed of the season not only in the U.S. but worldwide — and hopes are high that casual viewers of the sport will be able to increase audiences.

“I think it’s a relaunch in a way. We’re treating it and we were treating it in a huge way anyway, and we’ve kind of probably even done a little more, but we’ve got a lot of things coming up for the race, so we’re very excited about it,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services.

Apple reached a five-year deal with the global motorsports series last fall, averaging $150 million per year. ESPN, which had carried F1 races since 2018, paid nearly $90 million during a three-year extension signed in 2022.

Miami is the first race since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29. The Iran war forced F1 to call off April's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Apple is showing the races in 4K Dolby Vision with immersive 5.1 surround sound. Viewers can watch up to four live feeds at once during practices, qualifying and races via multi-view displays. In addition to in-car cameras, there are timing and scoring channels.

Viewers can also choose either the commentary team from F1 TV or Sky Sports. ESPN used the Sky Sports feed when it aired the races.

“I think the first feedback that we’ve gotten in general is how good the video quality is because we do Dolby Atmos and we do 4K and we really don’t compress at the levels that all of the others do. The first time you watch a race, you’re like, ‘Wow, this looks amazing.’ The video and sound quality is just really, really good,” Cue said. "We’ve had almost a third of the people that are watching the race are taking advantage of multiview, because we’ve made it easy to do that where you can watch the key feed and watch your favorite cars."

Apple TV is also adding two shows before and after race weekends.

“Circuits in Focus” debuted on Thursday and features 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg and creator Emelia Hartford previewing the circuit where the race will be run heading into the weekend, including strategy and key areas of the track that could define the race. Rosberg and Hartford will use the EA Sports F1 25 video game to take viewers into the driver's seat to show where there will be chances for drivers to overtake or defend their position.

“POV” will take place after races. It features former Red Bull Racing senior technician Calum Nicholas as well as content creator and engineer Christina Roki as they react and analyze key points from the weekend from a technical point of view.

Apple is also adding an on-demand, 10-minute recap of qualifying to join its race reviews.

In addition to content in its sports app, Apple also offers detailed circuit layouts in its Maps app, driver-curated playlists in Apple Music, and content in Apple News and podcasts.

Besides the content on Apple, Sunday's race will be shown nationwide from 50 IMAX locations. The race will also be shown in Times Square in New York.

The Tubi streaming “The Fast Lane: Miami” altcast features YouTube influencers Michelle Khare and Jeremiah Burton along with F1 expert Scott Mansell.

Apple is not part of Nielsen’s ratings system, and the company has not released ratings on the first three races. Cue said they have been pleased with viewer figures.

“I think fans have in some ways been surprised by how good everything’s turned out. We haven’t released any numbers yet or anything. We’ve been very happy with it and you’ll soon see more about that,” Cue said.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Fans line the edges of the street as McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain drives an MCL60 during a fan event showcasing past McLaren cars, ahead of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain smiles toward fans after driving an MCL60 during a fan event showcasing past McLaren cars, ahead of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Fans watch as former Brazilian racing driver Bruno Senna steers an MP4/6 during a fan event showcasing past McLaren race cars ahead of the Formula One Miami Grand Prix auto race, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)