Mali
said on Tuesday that the capital Bamako was under control after insurgents
attacked a gendarmerie training school and other areas before dawn, firing
gunshots that reverberated around the city.
"Early
this morning, a group of terrorists attempted to infiltrate the Faladie
gendarmerie school. Mopping-up operations are currently under way," the
army said in a statement.
It
called on residents to avoid the area and await further official communication.
The
military government said "some sensitive points of the capital" came
under attack, including the gendarmerie school.
It
said the army had pushed back the "terrorists" responsible for the
assault and urged civilians to go about their daily business.
The
gendarmerie school is in Faladie, a district on the southeastern outskirts of
Bamako, near the main international airport. Reuters heard the gunfire in the
Banankabougou neighbourhood near Faladie before sunrise. People heading to the
mosque for morning prayers turned back as shots rang out.
The
gunfire started around 0530 GMT. Some residents said it came from the direction
of the airport, while others said it was coming from next to the gendarmerie.
A
security source said gunfire was heard in several neighbourhoods, including
areas close to the main airport.
Another
security source said the airport had been closed.
Mali
is one of several West African countries fighting an Islamist insurgency that
took roots in Mali's arid north in 2012 and has since spread across the Sahel
and more recently to the north of coastal countries.
Thousands
have been killed and millions displaced in the region amid the advance by
militants, some of whom have links to al Qaeda and Islamic State, and military
efforts to push them back. Governments and fighters have been accused of
violence against civilians.
Frustration
against the authorities for failing to restore security contributed to two
coups in Mali - in 2020 and 2021 - followed by two in neighbouring Burkina Faso
and one in Niger.
But
jihadist attacks have escalated despite the juntas' promises to improve
security, in part by replacing alliances with Western countries with Russian
support, including mercenaries from Russia's Wagner private army.
Experienced
Wagner fighters were killed at the end of July during a battle near the
Algerian border between Tuareg rebels and the Malian army, which suffered heavy
losses and was ambushed by jihadists as it withdrew.
It
is however rare for insurgents to strike inside the capital. In 2015, armed men
launched a dawn raid on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako that killed 20 people.