Mali army says armed fighters hit five towns in coordinated attacks
Mali's military reported attacks in five locations, including northern towns where its remaining Kidal region positions are under pressure.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Armed fighters attacked five locations across Mali on Saturday, Mali’s military said, widening pressure on the country’s military-led government after major rebel assaults in April. The reported targets included northern towns where government troops remain deployed in the Kidal region and areas in central and southern Mali, according to the army and security sources cited by Al Jazeera, AFP and Reuters.
The Malian army said the attacks targeted Aguelhok, Anefis, Gao, Sevare and Kenieroba. AFP, citing residents and security sources, reported that fighting in several places began at about 5am local time, or 05:00 GMT.
A Tuareg-led armed group said it carried out one of the attacks in northern Mali. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front, told Reuters that the group’s fighters attacked Anefis, a town in the northeastern Kidal region.
Ramadane told AFP that several positions in Anefis had fallen while fighting continued inside the town. An Anefis resident told AFP that armed groups were inside the town but that the army was still resisting, and said the military camp there had not fallen.
Northern army positions under pressure
Government troops and Russian fighters had deployed in Anefis after attacks on April 25 and 26, when the Azawad Liberation Front and the regional al-Qaeda affiliate seized control of Kidal town, according to Al Jazeera. Anefis and Aguelhok are the last places in the Kidal region where Mali’s army still has a presence following those April attacks, Al Jazeera reported.
In Gao, a city in central Mali, a local official told Reuters that gunfire and rockets had targeted a military camp since before dawn. Reuters reported that it was not immediately clear which group was responsible for that attack.
In Sevare, a central town, a security source told AFP that explosions were heard around 5am, but that their origin was not yet known. The same source said several aircraft were later seen flying over the area.
AFP also reported an attack on a major prison complex in Kenieroba, citing residents, security sources and a prisoner inside the facility. Kenieroba lies south of Bamako, the capital.
Latest challenge to military rulers
Saturday’s attacks followed high-profile assaults in April that struck Bamako’s airport and other parts of Mali, according to Al Jazeera. Those attacks killed the defence minister and led to the seizure of several army bases in the north, Al Jazeera reported.
Mali has been ruled by military authorities during a prolonged security crisis in the Sahel. The latest attacks showed that armed groups can strike across distant parts of the country on the same morning, including near remaining northern army positions, central military sites and a prison south of the capital, according to the accounts from the Malian army, residents and security sources reported by AFP and Reuters.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.