Fresh fighting has broken out in the strategic northern Malian city of Kidal between Tuareg rebels and government forces backed by Russian mercenaries.
Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said clashes resumed on Sunday as they tried to “drive out the last Russian fighters” who had taken refuge in a military camp in the city. A local elected official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that residents heard sustained gunfire as Malian troops, Russian personnel and Tuareg fighters exchanged shots.
Kidal, a historic Tuareg stronghold, was retaken by the Malian army in November 2023 with support from Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of de facto rebel control. The FLA now claims to have seized the city again and says it has also captured positions in the northern Gao region.
The renewed clashes follow a wave of coordinated attacks on Saturday across junta‑ruled Mali, when an Al Qaeda linked jihadist group teamed up with Tuareg rebels to strike army targets near the capital Bamako and in several other towns. Authorities said 16 civilians and soldiers were wounded and that the attacks caused “limited material damage,” insisting the situation was “totally under control” in all affected locations.
Mali has been mired in conflict and jihadist violence for more than a decade, but observers say the latest attacks are the worst since the military seized power in a 2020 coup.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the violence and voiced deep concern over the reports of attacks in multiple locations. His spokesman Stephane Dujarric called for coordinated international support to confront the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to address urgent humanitarian needs.
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