Killing of Mali’s defense minister exacerbates its security crisis
Jihadist insurgents and Tuareg secessionists assassinated Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara at his home in Kati during coordinated attacks across the West African country on Saturday, as the junta faces yet another major challenge amid the 14-year-long nationwide security crisis. Camara was the architect of the ruling junta’s strategy toward rebel groups since coming to power in 2021. The rebels appear to be gaining ground, as they claimed to have seized full control of the northern town of Kidal on Sunday following the withdrawal of the government-backed Russian Africa Corps – the town has been a separatist stronghold. Mali’s security situation has been deteriorating for months, with the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam al-Muslimin, the jihadist group that has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, surrounding the capital Bamako late last year and blocking the supply of oil ever since. The Russian-backed junta’s position, it appears, is only getting more precarious.
Israeli opposition joins forces again in effort to topple Netanyahu
Aiming to finally end the career of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid – both former PMs – announced Sunday they’re once again joining their respective right-wing and centrist parties together ahead of parliamentary elections later this year. They did so back in 2021, with mixed results: they won the election that year, but their coalition, which included the Islamist party Ra’am, fell apart 18 months later. When announcing the effort, Bennett – who will lead the coalition – spoke of the need for unity while citing the recent defeat of Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s long-time leader, as a cause for hope. While frustrations are growing in Israel over Benjamin Netanyahu’s governance, amid wars with Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, polls still suggest that this Bennett-Lapid coalition doesn’t have enough support to win a majority.
