Mali’s army announced on Tuesday its successful entry into Kidal, a northern town considered a stronghold of Tuareg-dominated separatist groups. This move addresses a significant sovereignty concern for the government led by the junta.
“The (Malian Armed Forces) took up position in the town of Kidal this Tuesday,” the general staff said in a statement on social media.
This development symbolizes a significant achievement for Mali’s current ruling junta, which took control in 2020.
For years, both the army and the state had a minimal presence in the town, which had been under the control of predominantly Tuareg armed groups.
The defiance exhibited by the town and the Kidal region, where the army faced humiliating defeats from 2012 to 2014, has persistently irked the government in the capital, Bamako.