Tuareg separatists and their jihadist allies attacked a convoy of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers Thursday morning, as they traveled to assist cohorts holed up at a northern military camp in the town of Anefis.
Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists and FLA Tuareg separatists launched coordinated attacks in Mali on Saturday, just over two months after another major offensive in which they captured the strategic northern town of Kidal and killed the troubled West African country’s defense minister.
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In their latest assault, FLA claimed control of Anefis, a location crucial to maintaining a grip on Kidal, which is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) away.
However, Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps and a few Malian soldiers remained in control of a military camp there.
After an initial army reinforcement convoy from the major northern city of Gao was ambushed last Sunday, a second convoy came under attack on Thursday morning, with fierce fighting still underway.
“Our troops engaged in combat this Thursday near Tabankort (northern Mali) against the reinforcement force, which is composed 90 percent of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers,” Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the FLA, told AFP.
A Malian security source confirmed that the fighting was ongoing after “the convoy heading to Anefis fell into another ambush.”
The convoy consists of “dozens of vehicles with air cover,” the source said.
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A video released by the FLA showed heavy gunfire in a desert area.
Since the coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali has been led by the military.
The junta leaders had promised to restore calm in the vast nation, which has been grappling with a security crisis since 2012, but so far have mostly failed to deliver.
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