Tuareg separatists ambushed a Malian military convoy in the country’s north on Saturday, inflicting what a local official described as “heavy casualties” as the troops withdrew from the strategic town of Anefis.
The attack came just over a week after Mali’s army, backed by Russian Africa Corps personnel, recaptured Anefis following fierce battles with Al Qaeda-linked militants and fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front.
The convoy was travelling from Anefis towards the northern city of Gao when it came under attack near Tabankort, according to a military source in Gao, who said fighting was continuing in the area.
“We attacked a convoy of around 50 vehicles between Tabankort and Tangara,” a source from the Azawad Liberation Front said.
The separatist source claimed that Malian forces abandoned several vehicles and other pieces of equipment, including trucks.
A security source said the Malian army had suffered “significant losses,” although the remaining vehicles in the convoy managed to continue their journey. A local official separately reported “many casualties” among the troops.
The Azawad Liberation Front also published images that it said showed dozens of captured Malian soldiers. The claims and photographs could not be independently verified.
Mali’s army retook Anefis on July 10 with support from Russia’s Africa Corps after several days of clashes with the Al Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known as JNIM, and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front.
The two armed groups had seized the town earlier in July during a coordinated offensive.
The renewed fighting followed deadly clashes in Anefis that killed around 30 Malian soldiers and wounded nearly 60 others, according to figures released by the military’s general staff on July 12.
Mali has faced a prolonged security crisis since 2012, driven by separatist rebellions, militant violence and political instability.
The country is currently ruled by a military government that seized power following coups in 2020 and 2021.