The Malian military has confirmed that the coordinated insurgent attacks in April were part of a plot to assassinate junta leader General Assimi Goïta. According to an army spokesperson, insurgents deployed multiple suicide car bombs, including one explicitly targeting the Head of State’s residence. The fallout from the assassination attempt has also accelerated the region’s crackdown on international media. In neighboring Burkina Faso—a fellow member of the Alliance of Sahel States—authorities banned the French broadcaster TV5Monde, accusing the network of spreading disinformation and glorifying terrorism in its coverage of the Mali attacks. The media ban reflects a broader, ongoing effort by Sahel military regimes to tightly control wartime narratives and block foreign reporting that they claim demoralizes frontline troops.
Africanews
