Insurgents launched attacks on several towns across northern and central Mali on Saturday, in the latest sign of growing pressure on the country’s military-led government and its Russian-backed security forces.
The Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said its fighters attacked Anefis, a strategic town in the northeastern Kidal region where Malian government troops and Russian paramilitary forces have been deployed.
FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told Reuters that the group began its assault on Anefis early Saturday. The town has become a key military position since April’s major insurgent offensive, when the FLA and the regional al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) seized control of Kidal town.
Residents and officials also reported fighting in Gao, where gunfire and rockets were heard near a military camp before dawn. A local official said the attack had continued through the morning, though it was not immediately clear which group was responsible.
Local Malian media, citing army-linked updates, said attempted attacks targeted FAMa positions in several localities, including Aguel hoc, Anefis, Gao, Sévaré and Kenioroba. The Malian army said the situation was being monitored, while pro-government reports claimed some attacks had been repelled and that security sweeps were under way.
A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and there was no independent confirmation of casualties or territorial changes.
Saturday’s attacks come just over two months after one of the most serious insurgent offensives Mali has faced in years. In late April, Tuareg rebels and jihadist fighters launched coordinated attacks across the country, hitting Bamako’s airport, the garrison town of Kati, Gao, Mopti, Sévaré and Kidal. The assault killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and exposed major weaknesses in the junta’s security posture.
The April offensive also marked a major escalation in cooperation between JNIM and the FLA, two groups with different agendas but a shared enemy in Mali’s military government. JNIM is seeking to expand jihadist control across the Sahel, while the FLA is rooted in the long-running Tuareg separatist struggle for Azawad in northern Mali.
Mali has been ruled by a military government since coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta expelled French forces and pushed out the U.N. peacekeeping mission, turning instead to Russian paramilitary forces for military support. But despite repeated promises to restore security, armed groups have continued to expand their reach across northern, central and increasingly southern Mali.