Residents recounted intense clashes that unfolded at dawn. «This was clearly a terrorist strike. Gunfire and explosions began around five o’clock and carried on without pause,» one San local reported, noting that «tranquility has since returned.» Meanwhile, the Malian army issued a statement describing the incident as a mere «attempted assault on the San military installation Sunday at 05:30.» The general staff emphasized a «robust counterattack by Malian forces» that «repelled the assault,» asserting that «the situation is now fully stabilized.»

Jihadist faction claims responsibility

The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate, asserted responsibility for the raid. In its communiqué, the group declared it had achieved «full control of a Malian army barracks in San, within the Ségou region, earlier this morning.» On July 18, at least fifty soldiers perished in northern Mali when a military convoy came under simultaneous attack by JNIM jihadists and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA)—one of the deadliest strikes against the armed forces since hostilities began.

Mali has grappled with a severe security crisis since 2012, fueled by violence from factions aligned with Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State, alongside community-based criminal gangs and Tuareg independence movements. The turmoil compounds an already dire economic downturn. Since back-to-back military takeovers in 2020 and 2021, the nation has been governed by a junta pledging to restore security and preserve territorial unity.