Mali accuses military officers of working with jihadis to carry out attacks against government

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Mali accuses military officers of working with jihadis to carry out attacks against government

2026-05-02 11:02 Last Updated At：11:10

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Some military officers in Mali worked with jihadis and separatists who recently launched their biggest round of attacks in over a decade in the conflict-battered country, authorities said late Friday.

The separatist fighters, meanwhile, said earlier in the day that they captured a strategic military camp in the northern town of Tessalit after the withdrawal of Mali's army and its Russian allies from there.

The claim by the Azawad Liberation Front separatist group was the latest setback for Mali’s ruling junta, which lost control of the major city of Kidal earlier in the week as part of the attacks that killed Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara.

Mali has been run by the military since a 2020 coup and has long suffered violence as jihadi groups expand in surrounding territories in the wider Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, which is known as global hotspot for violent extremism.

The latest assault in the West African nation began Saturday after al-Qaida-backed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, and the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, partnered to target the main international airport in the capital, Bamako, as well as other Malian towns and cities in near-simultaneous attacks, with the fighters riding on motorcycles and trucks.

A statement from the public prosecutor at the Military Court of Bamako, which was read on state television on Friday, noted that investigations found “solid evidence regarding the complicity of certain military personnel” in the attacks, including serving and recently dismissed officers.

The officers participated in “the planning, coordination, and execution” of the attacks, the prosecutor's statement said, while also alleging the involvement of politicians, including Oumar Mariko, a prominent Malian politician in exile.

Before the arrival of the FLA fighters Friday, the Malian army and members of Russia’s Africa Corp reportedly pulled out of the Tessalit military camp, which is strategically located near an airport and the border with Algeria.

Achafghi Ag Bouhanda, a top FLA commander, announced the capture of Tessalit in an online video verified by The Associated Press.

The AP could not independently confirm the situation at the camp. Malian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

At least 10 locations have been attacked by the militants since the latest assault began, forcing Malian and Russian forces to withdraw from the key northern city of Kidal, which was once a stronghold of the separatists.

The junta has vowed to continue its aerial and ground offensive against the militants.

“Military operations will continue until the armed groups involved have been completely neutralized and security has been sustainably restored throughout the country,” Assimi Goita, Malian military leader, said on Tuesday.

The jihadis have at various times in recent days blocked roads leading to Mali’s capital Bamako, further squeezing the city that already was facing a fuel blockade imposed by the militants late last year.

JNIM earlier this week announced it would enforce a total blockade of Bamako's four major routes, which had previously been partially blocked by the militants. Traffic leading to the city was disrupted Friday and there were reports of roadblocks. The partial blockade has forced some travel agencies to stop operating, travelers said.

“These days, traveling by road is a dangerous undertaking,” said Aminata Traoré, who travels between Bamako and the Sikasso region in the south of the country.

What to know about May Day demonstrations as workers face rising energy costs due to Iran war

PARIS (AP) — Activists worldwide held May Day rallies and street protests on Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war.

May 1 is a public holiday in many countries to mark International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, when workers’ unions traditionally rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues. Demonstrations were held across Asia — from South Korea to Australia and Indonesia — to many European capitals. In the United States, activists opposing President Donald Trump’s policies also held marches and boycotts.

“Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East,” the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organizations in 41 European countries, said. “Today’s rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed.”

What to know about May Day:

Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East was as a key theme in Friday’s rallies.

On a main avenue in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, taxi drivers honked their horns and bus drivers parked their vehicles to protest rising fuel costs.

“All my expenses have gone up, but my wages haven’t budged,” Akherraz Lhachimi of the Moroccan Labor Union said.

Several rallies were staged in South Africa, where the head of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Zingiswa Losi, said workers were “suffocating” under rising costs of food, electricity, transportation and healthcare.

Turkish authorities in Istanbul detained hundreds of demonstrators for attempting to march in areas declared off-limits on security grounds, most notably central Taksim Square, the epicenter of 2013 protests. May Day rallies in Turkey are frequently marred by clashes with authorities.

A demonstration in Santiago, Chile, ended with vandalism and clashes between protesters and police, who used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Several thousand people gathered across Portugal as unions rallied together to protest proposed changes to labor laws that include making worker dismissals easier and reducing miscarriage bereavement leave.

“It’s the only voice we have,” public sector worker Paulo Domingues said of the protests.

May Day carries special meaning this year in France, after a heated debate about whether employees should be allowed to work on the country’s most protected public holiday — the only day when most employees have a mandatory paid day off.

Tens of thousands of people joined marches across the country, including in Paris, where brief scuffles with police broke out.

Almost all businesses, shops and malls were closed, and only essential sectors such as hospitals, transport and hotels were exempt.

A recent parliamentary proposal to expand work on the day prompted major outcry from unions and left-wing politicians.

Faced with the dispute, the government this week introduced a bill that would allow bakeries and florists to open. It is customary in France to give lily of the valley flowers on May Day as a symbol of good luck.

“May 1 is not just any day,” Small and Medium-sized Businesses Minister Serge Papin said. “It symbolizes social gains stemming from a century of building social rules that have led to the labor code we know in France.”

In the U.S., where May Day is not a federal holiday, May Day Strong, a coalition of activist groups and labor unions, urged people to protest under the banner of “workers over billionaires” and called for an economic blackout through “no school, no work, no shopping.”

Many demonstrators voiced opposition to Trump’s policies, including his immigration crackdown.

“We’re seeing tons and tons of attacks on working people and on oppressed communities from the Trump administration, both at home and abroad,” said Kathryn Stender, an activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation who was among thousands at a rally in a Chicago park.

The atmosphere there was festive, with Native American dancers, mariachi bands and monarch butterfly signs, which have become a symbol of the immigrant rights movement.

Protesters blocked a road outside the international terminal at San Francisco’s airport, leading to the street’s closure for about two hours. Authorities warned passengers to allow for extra travel time.

Several state and city elected officials were arrested, including Supervisor Connie Chan. Her office said she was detained, cited and released.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed a largely supportive crowd at a Manhattan rally organized by unions and immigrant advocates. He reiterated his promise to raise taxes on the wealthy and “protect our neighbors from the cruelty of ICE,” or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Police arrested multiple people at a protest outside the New York Stock Exchange, but authorities didn't have an exact count or information on charges. Video showed some protesters tried to chain themselves to a railing. One struggled with officers.

While labor and immigrant rights are historically intertwined, the focus of May Day rallies in the U.S. shifted to immigration in 2006. That’s when roughly 1 million people, including nearly half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest federal legislation that would have made living in the U.S. without legal permission a felony.

May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces back more than a century to a pivotal period in U.S. labor history.

In the 1880s, unions pushed for an eight-hour workday. A Chicago rally in May 1886 turned deadly when a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. Several labor activists — most of them immigrants — were convicted of conspiracy and other charges; four were executed.

Unions later designated May 1 to honor workers. A monument in Chicago’s Haymarket Square commemorates them with the inscription: “Dedicated to all workers of the world.”

Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.