Get you up to speed: UK government advises against all travel to Mali amid coordination of attacks
Britons have been advised to avoid all travel to Mali following a series of coordinated attacks across multiple locations including Bamako, Kidal, and Gao. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has warned of high risks of kidnapping and criminal activity throughout the country.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has issued a warning advising against all travel to Mali due to the ‘unpredictable security conditions’ following a series of coordinated attacks in multiple locations, including Bamako and Kidal. Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, stated that the latest uprising represents the largest insurgency in Mali in recent years.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised Britons in Mali to leave immediately via commercial flights, highlighting a high risk of kidnapping and criminal activity across the country. The situation remains fluid after coordinated attacks occurred in multiple locations, including Kidal, Gao, Kati, Sevare, and near Bamako International Airport, which has temporarily closed.
UK government issues do not travel warning for Mali after attacks | News World
Britons have been advised to avoid all travel to Mali after gunmen opened fire across several cities in the African nation.
Armed terrorist groups were reported to have attacked barracks and several other sites in the capital Bamako.
Mali’s army said in a statement that soldiers were ‘engaged in eliminating the attackers’ and later confirmed the situation was ‘under control’.
However the FCDO has issued a warning against all travel Mali due to the ‘unpredictable security conditions’.
It added that there was a high risk of kidnapping and criminal activity across the country.
Britons in Mali should leave immediately by commercial flights where it is safe to do so and not by land, the government department said.
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A Malian army soldier stands in position during an attack on Mali’s main military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako (Picture: Reuters)
The Foreign Office said in a statement: ‘A series of coordinated attacks occurred in multiple locations including Kidal, Gao, Kati, Sevare and in the vicinity of Bamako International Airport on 25th April, which has temporarily closed.
‘If you are in Mali, you should stay indoors where possible, avoid crowded places and areas of military or police activity, and follow guidance issued by local authorities.’
Journalists in Bamako reported gunfire near Modibo Keïta International Airport, nine miles from the city centre and adjacent to an air force base.
Similar attacks in other cities have fuelled fears the latest insurgency has been coordinated by several armed groups.
In recent years Mali has been rocked by successive coups by groups affiliated to both al-Qaeda and Islamic State as well as a rebellion in the north.
Mali, as well as neighbouring Burkino Faso and Niger, have all turned to Russia for help in combating Islamic military groups following coups in all three countries.
Several explosions and gunshots were heard at locations across the nation’s capital Bamako (Picture: AP)
Since 2025, the nation has been governed by a military junta led by General Assimi Goïta, who staged coups overthrowing the previous regime.
Among other cities in Mali hit by the latest turmoil is Goïta’s town of Kati, located outside Bamako.
A resident of the town said he was woken this morning to the sound of explosions and gunshots.
Bodies were pictured on the streets of Kidal and Gao, where gunfire had been exchanged.
What is the situation in Mali?
Recent decades have seen regular political upheaval in Mali and its neighbouring countries.
The country has seen successive coups by pro-Islamic state groups and a separatist rebellion in the north.
French forces intervened in 2012 to curb the Tuareg Rebellion at the behest of then-president Dioncounda Traoré.
Conflicts have grown between agricultural and pastoral groups in central Mali since 2015.
A military junta led by Assimi Goïta seized control following two coups in 2020 and 2021.
Since September 2025, economic disruption has been caused by a blockade of fuel imports to cities in the south by al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM.
One resident in Gao said: ‘The force of the explosions is making the doors and windows of my house shake. I’m scared out of my wits.’
A spokesperson for Tuareg-led Azawad, a separatist group, said it had taken control of Kidal, however his claims have yet to be verified.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the latest uprising was the largest insurgency in Mali in recent years.
The US embassy in Bamako advised all citizens to ‘shelter in place and avoid travel to these destinations until further information becomes available’.
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