The leader of the Malian military junta met with the Russian ambassador in Bamako on Tuesday, authorities said.
It is his first public appearance since the West African country was the target of a major, coordinated attack by militants and separatists over the weekend.
Russia, a key ally of the junta, called the attack an attempted coup.
The office of military leader Assimi Goita released photos showing his meeting with a Russian delegation led by Ambassador Igor Gromyko, in what appears to be a presidential palace in the capital, Bamako.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Mali issued a security alert, citing “possible terrorist movements within Bamako”.
The junta, which has been in power since a military coup in 2020, faced a major attack on Saturday after al-Qaeda-linked militants and the separatist group Azawad Liberation Front launched coordinated attacks on at least four cities in a region seen as one of the global hotspots for terrorism-related deaths.
The near-simultaneous attacks hit Bamako International Airport, the nearby city of Kati, and several cities in the north and center of the country, including Kidal and Sevare.
The Azawad Liberation Front separatist group said its fighters eventually captured Kidal after Malian and Russian forces withdrew. The Malian Minister of Defense, General Sadio Camara, was also killed in the attacks.
Three days later, it is still not clear who controls the areas that were attacked or the number of casualties. There is tension in Bamako, and part of the population has expressed concern for their own safety.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian forces, the so-called The African Corps, which supports the Malian junta, together with Malian security forces prevented a coup. The statement states that around 12,000 attackers took part in the offensive using sophisticated weapons.
The Russians claim that the withdrawal from Kidal was the decision of the Malian government and that their units stationed in that northern city “fought for more than 24 hours in a complete environment against significantly superior enemy forces and repelled four major attacks on their main positions and outer defense lines.”
(Vijesti.ba)
