Mali military leader assumes role of defence minister

Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military government, has been declared defence minister after the former defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in coordinated terrorist attacks on April 25.

This was announced on state television on Monday, adding that Mali’s army chief of staff, General Oumar Diarra, will now serve as minister delegate for defence.

In the nationwide broadcast, Mr Goita, doubling as Mali’s military leader and defence minister, was described as a “strategic decision coming in a security context that remains sensitive.”

It comes over a week after al-Qaeda-linked militants and Tuareg separatists killed Mr Camara in his residence.

Other people were killed during the attack due to the collapse of Mr Camara’s building and a nearby mosque.