Bamako, Mali (AFP) – Gunfire was heard on Tuesday morning in Mali’s capital, Bamako.
The gunfire began around 5:00 a.m. local time (0500 UTC/GMT).
An anonymous police source told AFP news agency that armed men attacked at least one military police base in the city. The source said the gunmen had not been officially identified.
AFP said black smoke could be seen rising from an area near the airport.
Reuters news agency cited a security source as saying that gunfire was heard in several neighborhoods, including near the main international airport.
Reuters said its correspondents heard gunfire in the neighborhood of Banankabougou.
Mali state TV later reported that the situation was “under control.”
Marima Sagara, deputy director of the army’s communications service, was cited by AP news agency as saying that a military training camp on the outskirts of Bamako had been attacked.
Mali’s military leadership grapples with insurgency.
Mali has been ruled by military leaders since coups in 2020 and 2021.
The West African country has been faced with an Islamist insurgency since 2012 that has also beset several neighboring Sahel states.
The gunfire comes as West Africa grapples with unprecedented flooding. Mali’s transitional government declared a state of natural disaster on Monday.
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