Mali's junta chief Colonel Assimi Goita pledged to retake control of the sprawling insurgency-hit country from jihadist groups and rebels.
Speaking on Friday during the anniversary of the West African nation's 1960 independence from France, Goita acknowledged that his government faced an uphill task.
An insurgency erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to Niger and Burkina Faso.
The insurgents have been extending their hold over rural areas in the north and on Thursday attacked the fabled city of Timbuktu.
Timbuktu is renowned for its iconic adobe structures, madrasahs that have significantly shaped Islamic civilization, and its invaluable col lection of manuscripts.
For the past month, it has fallen under the control and siege of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) responsible for the Sahel.
"The security situation is certainly tense," Goita said.
But he added that "Mali will regain sovereignty over the entire stretch of national territory and bring basic social services to our people."
Mali's junta pushed out France's force in 2022 and the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA in 2023.
The West African country has seen back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021 and much of the country is outside government control.
