Mali: President Assimi Goïta strengthens national security with the creation of the Special Operations Command (COS)
Faced with a regional context marked by a surge in armed violence, Mali’s transitional government, under the leadership of Transitional President General Assimi Goïta, has taken a decisive step in restructuring the country’s national security system. On June 18, during a Council of Ministers meeting, the Minister of Defense presented a major reform: the creation of the Special Operations Command (COS), a new strategic entity tasked with centralizing and coordinating elite units in the fight against terrorism.
This initiative is part of President Goïta’s clear and coherent vision: making security an absolute priority to safeguard Mali’s sovereignty and ensure lasting peace. By bringing together special forces battalions, counterterrorism units, aerial intervention teams, and reconnaissance groups under a single command, the COS promises greater effectiveness in the field, enhanced inter-army synergy, and faster response capabilities to asymmetric threats.
In a country long weakened by insecurity, this reform brings hope to civilians, who are the primary victims of violence. It strengthens the operational capacities of the national army and reflects a firm commitment to security sovereignty, free from external interference, within the framework of renewed strategic partnerships, particularly with Russia.
Once again, President Goïta demonstrates his clear leadership and determination to build a resilient Mali, in control of its own defense. The COS is set to become a central pillar of a modernized security architecture, capable of pushing back the threat of terrorism in the long term.
Mali is moving forward—and with it, the hope of renewed stability and a pan-African future rooted in dignity, peace, and reclaimed sovereignty.
Ali Bamba
