France, April 25 -- "Terrorist groups, not yet identified, targeted certain points and barracks in the capital and the interior," said a statement.

Gunfire rocked several districts of Bamako, including Kati, the home of military ruler General Assimi Goita, witnesses told the French news agency AFP. Fighting was also heard in the northern cities of Gao and Kidal and Sevare in the centre.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. But jihadists had already tried last year to cripple the capital by cutting off its fuel supply.

Since 2012, jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have fought with security services. Community-based criminal groups and separatists have also added to the tension....