<p>The Malian army said it had thwarted a "terrorist" attack on Friday at a town on the outskirts of the capital where a key base used by the ruling military is located.</p>.<p>Armed forces "vigorously repelled" a dawn attack at the garrison town of Kati in which assailants used two explosives-laden vehicles, the army said on Facebook.</p>.<p>"The situation is under control and operations are under way to flush out those behind (the attack) and their accomplices," it said.</p>.<p>Two assailants have been killed, it said, giving what it described as a provisional toll.</p>.<p>One of Africa's most troubled states, Mali is struggling with both a jihadist insurgency and political turbulence, experiencing two coups within the last two years.</p>.<p>Residents said they heard gunfire and explosions at dawn.</p>.<p>"We were woken up at five o'clock by firing, by explosions, we don't know what's going on," said one resident said.</p>.<p>Another source said: "Our base is being attacked."</p>.<p>Several hours later, an AFP correspondent heard detonations as special forces personnel were deployed in the area and two helicopters flew overhead.</p>.<p>A military source, who also asked not to be identified, said the attack aimed at a military fuel and transport depot, and the assailants had taken two vehicles.</p>.<p>The French embassy sent text messages to French nationals saying, "attack under way at Kati" and urging caution.</p>.<p>The base at Kati is located 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the capital Bamako.</p>.<p>It is a major hub for the Malian military, which has been behind a string of coups since the country gained independence from France in 1960.</p>.<p>The camp is reputedly the residence of strongman Colonel Assimi Goita, who is Mali's transitional president, and Defence Minister Colonel Sadio Camara.</p>.<p>The base was the springboard for mounting a putsch led by Goita in August 2020, and afterwards was used to detain the ousted elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.</p>.<p>After another coup the following May, the base was then used to hold Keita's successor, Bah Ndaw, and prime minister Moctar Ouane.</p>.<p>Keita was forced out after mounting protests at failures to stem a jihadist campaign that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and then spread to the country's volatile centre, Niger and Burkina Faso.</p>.<p>Across the three countries, thousands of civilians, troops and police have been killed and more than two million people have fled their homes.</p>.<p>The camp at Kati has never been hit in the insurgency, and the identity of the assailants is unknown.</p>.<p>The attack came a day after suspected jihadists carried out six simultaneous raids -- also launched at dawn -- on security positions in the regions of Segou and Mopti in the centre of the country and in Koulikoro, near Bamako.</p>.<p>In May 2021, the junta led by Goita staged a second coup, forcing out a civilian-led government.</p>.<p>Since then, it has woven closer ties with the Kremlin, bringing in Russian personnel, while relations with international partners have gone into a downward spiral.</p>.<p>A spat with France has triggered a pullout of French forces that have been fighting jihadists in Mali for nearly a decade. The withdrawal is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.</p>.<p>Tensions, meanwhile, have brewed with the UN's peacekeeping force MINUSMA, whose spokesman this week was told to leave the country.</p>
<p>The Malian army said it had thwarted a "terrorist" attack on Friday at a town on the outskirts of the capital where a key base used by the ruling military is located.</p>.<p>Armed forces "vigorously repelled" a dawn attack at the garrison town of Kati in which assailants used two explosives-laden vehicles, the army said on Facebook.</p>.<p>"The situation is under control and operations are under way to flush out those behind (the attack) and their accomplices," it said.</p>.<p>Two assailants have been killed, it said, giving what it described as a provisional toll.</p>.<p>One of Africa's most troubled states, Mali is struggling with both a jihadist insurgency and political turbulence, experiencing two coups within the last two years.</p>.<p>Residents said they heard gunfire and explosions at dawn.</p>.<p>"We were woken up at five o'clock by firing, by explosions, we don't know what's going on," said one resident said.</p>.<p>Another source said: "Our base is being attacked."</p>.<p>Several hours later, an AFP correspondent heard detonations as special forces personnel were deployed in the area and two helicopters flew overhead.</p>.<p>A military source, who also asked not to be identified, said the attack aimed at a military fuel and transport depot, and the assailants had taken two vehicles.</p>.<p>The French embassy sent text messages to French nationals saying, "attack under way at Kati" and urging caution.</p>.<p>The base at Kati is located 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the capital Bamako.</p>.<p>It is a major hub for the Malian military, which has been behind a string of coups since the country gained independence from France in 1960.</p>.<p>The camp is reputedly the residence of strongman Colonel Assimi Goita, who is Mali's transitional president, and Defence Minister Colonel Sadio Camara.</p>.<p>The base was the springboard for mounting a putsch led by Goita in August 2020, and afterwards was used to detain the ousted elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.</p>.<p>After another coup the following May, the base was then used to hold Keita's successor, Bah Ndaw, and prime minister Moctar Ouane.</p>.<p>Keita was forced out after mounting protests at failures to stem a jihadist campaign that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and then spread to the country's volatile centre, Niger and Burkina Faso.</p>.<p>Across the three countries, thousands of civilians, troops and police have been killed and more than two million people have fled their homes.</p>.<p>The camp at Kati has never been hit in the insurgency, and the identity of the assailants is unknown.</p>.<p>The attack came a day after suspected jihadists carried out six simultaneous raids -- also launched at dawn -- on security positions in the regions of Segou and Mopti in the centre of the country and in Koulikoro, near Bamako.</p>.<p>In May 2021, the junta led by Goita staged a second coup, forcing out a civilian-led government.</p>.<p>Since then, it has woven closer ties with the Kremlin, bringing in Russian personnel, while relations with international partners have gone into a downward spiral.</p>.<p>A spat with France has triggered a pullout of French forces that have been fighting jihadists in Mali for nearly a decade. The withdrawal is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.</p>.<p>Tensions, meanwhile, have brewed with the UN's peacekeeping force MINUSMA, whose spokesman this week was told to leave the country.</p>