Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Thousands of Malians demonstrate in support of the government’s fight against terror groups
Pavan Kulkarni
13 May 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Bamako protest
A thousand people gathered in Bamako this weekend to support the popular military government. Photo: screenshot

Two weeks before, the armed forces had fought off the highly coordinated attacks on six cities by about 12,000 jihadist and separatist fighters on April 25.

Originally published in People's Dispatch.

On May 9, thousands of Malians in various cities mobilized to express their support for the national armed forces and the sovereigntist popular military government defending the country from attacks by multiple foreign-backed terror groups.​

In the capital, Bamako – one of the six cities attacked on April 25 – citizens packed the Mamadou Konaté Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 5,500, to attend a gathering themed “For a Mali standing tall, united, at peace and secure”.​

Addressing the gathering, Ibrahim Cissé, president of the National Youth Council of Mali (CNJ), called on the young Malians to join the armed forces in ever greater numbers in the fight against terror groups, insisting, “We refuse to be a youth of spectators.”​

Speaking on behalf of Malian women, “We are all soldiers,” declared Kouyaté Sissoko, representative of the Coordination of Women’s Associations and NGOs of Mali (CAFO).​

Describing the attack on April 25 as “cowardly”, government spokesperson and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation Brigadier General Issa Coulibaly said that “the Malian people have shown that they will not yield to fear or manipulation.”

About 650 km northeast of Bamako, the city of Mopti was also attacked, along with four other cities across the country, in a coordinated offensive by about 12,000 fighters of the Al-Qaeda affiliate, the JNIM, and a northern Tuareg separatist group, the MNLA.

Just over two weeks later, civil society leaders gathered at Mopti’s governorate building on May 9. Addressing them, regional governor Brigadier General Daouda Dembélé assured that, “Mopti will remain strong and a bulwark”.​

Among the other demonstrations of support was the large public meeting, about 425 kilometers east of Bamako, at the Independence Square in the town of San, the administrative capital of the San region on the border with Burkina Faso.​

In her address to the gathering of youth, women leaders, and religious and traditional leaders, the mayor of the urban commune of San, Félicité Diarra, reiterated the support of the region’s people to the government, led by President Assimi Goïta.​

She also paid tribute to the civilians and soldiers killed on April 25, including Defense Minister Sadio Camara, a lieutenant general posthumously elevated to General’s rank after he fell in battle. “We do not mourn our heroes, we celebrate them,” Coulibaly affirmed in an address, back in Bamako.

Mali
France
terrorism
Alliance of Sahel States
AES

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Abayomi Azikiwe
Contributions of the Alliance of Sahel States to the African and World Revolutions
14 October 2026
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are leading the way toward the realization of Pan-Africanism and the struggle against imperialism in the 21st cen
Mark P. Fancher
Is It Bad News That U.S. Drones Will Be Pulled Out of Africa?
30 September 2026
The U.S.
Abayomi Azikiwe
Niger Thwarts Attempted Coup Amid Ongoing Threats to the Alliance of Sahel States
23 September 2026
For several years, three landlocked West African states have undergone political transformations designed to turn the page on French neo-coloni
Black Alliance For Peace
U.S. Hands off Mali, U.S. Hands off the AES, U.S. Out of Africa, and Shut Down AFRICOM
23 September 2026
The U.S.
Francis Phillip
Security Crises Around the Sahel: Nigeria and the Alliance of Sahel States
10 June 2026
The Alliance of Sahel States are fighting against western backed terrorists.
Socialist Movement of Ghana , Dhoruba bin-Wahad
Statement of Condemnation of the Plan to Have Emmanuel Macron Deliver a Keynote Address on Reparations in Ghana
10 June 2026
The Socialist Movement of Ghana declared its strong opposition to their government's invitation to French president Emmanuel Macron t
Nicholas Mwangi
Police tear gas and arrest protesters at France-Africa counter summit in Nairobi
20 May 2026
Organizers, activists, intellectuals, and international delegates were arrested in Nairobi during an anti-imperialist protest against the Franc
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
France Out of Africa! PASAI Shows the Way
13 May 2026
An international gathering of anti-imperialists in Nairobi, Kenya revealed the lies of “Africa Forward” as the presidents of France a
Kenyan government offers Red carpet for colonizers and a bloody nose for Anti-Imperialists
13 May 2026
The Ruto regime claims a Pan-African mandate when it sends police to Haiti, but it attacks and arrests Pan-African delegates when they gather i
Jeremy Miller
The Republic of Mali Still Stands: A Sahelian coup d'état that almost was
06 May 2026
The attack on Mali was a coordinated international destabilization campaign, but as is usually the case, any coverage from the Wester

More Stories


  • Bronx Anti-War Coalition
    Fare Evasion or Fatal Excuse? Statement on NYPD Mass Subway Shooting Over $2.90
    18 Sep 2024
    Derell Mickles' death was a devastating addition to the many lives lost in the war on Black and working-class people. With the increasing cost of transportation and the expansion of the police…
  • Sophie Hurwitz
    New University Rules Crack Down on Gaza Protests
    18 Sep 2024
    Dozens of campuses quietly implemented new “expressive activity” policies over the summer—effectively banning many forms of protest.
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio September 13, 2024
    13 Sep 2024
    In this week’s segment, we hear about the recent Israeli military incursion onto the occupied West Bank and the impact on the people there. But first, we discuss the recent debate between Kamala…
  • Presidential debate
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Harris and Trump Debate and the 2024 Presidential Campaign
    13 Sep 2024
    Jon Jeter joins us from Washington to talk about the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the 2024 presidential campaign.
  • Israel bombs mosque in the West Bank
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Israel's West Bank Invasion
    13 Sep 2024
    Rawan Masri of Decolonize Palestine joins us to talk about events in Palestine, on the West Bank, where the IDF sent troops into the occupied territory and engaged in mass arrests, shootings, and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us