Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Today, a wave of attacks, a wave of attacks, a minister killed, and a capital under siege.

We have surrounded Bamako. No trucks, cars, or even animal-drawn carts will be allowed to enter the city.

What's behind the recent surge of violence in Mali?

I'm Maliga Bilal and this is the take.

Hey everyone, if this is your first time catching an episode of the take, stick around. There is much more like this in the pipeline. And if you're a tried and true viewer or listener of the podcast, we're really glad you're here. Either way, we want to hear from you. Let us know what types of stories you want us to cover more of

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We're at A.J.E. Podcasts.

And I'm at M.M. Bilal.

Now, here's today show.

On the morning of April 25th, 2026, people in Bamako woke up to explosions.

Marley's army says armed groups launched surprise assaults, targeting key military positions in Bamako and other regions.

By the end of that day, Molly's defense minister had been killed alongside his wife and children

when a suicide bomber drove a car into their home.

During the intense fighting, he was wounded and then transported to the hospital,

where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries.

Fighters were in the streets of cities across one of West Africa's largest countries.

Two historically opposing groups, the Al-Qaeda-linked Genim and separatist Toreg rebels had launched a series of coordinated attacks against the military government.

In what analysts and diplomats described as one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years,

Mali's army said in a statement, it had killed, quote, several hundred assailants and repelled the assault.

But before a single shot was fired, more than five million people in Mali were already in humanitarian need.

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