Malian government reports attacks from rebels in northern towns

The Malian army said that several northern towns, including Gao and Sévaré, were targeted by rebels. The statement came as a rebel group announced a new offensive to capture a northern town, as reported by The Associated Press on July 4th. 

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said in a post on Facebook that the town of Anefis was being targeted by separatists. 

A resident of Gao, Mohamed Cissé told The Associated Press that the army is conducting door to door searches for attackers who are currently in the city. 

In a later statement the Malian army claimed that “the situation is completely under control.” The army added that in the central town of Sévaré, “20 terrorists on motorcycles and equipped vehicles were neutralized.”

Associated Press was told by Rawani Ahmed Bouya, a member of the FLA and head of the national Office of the Azawad diaspora, that Anefis was under FLA control and that the fighting was nearly over, however the claim was unable to be independently verified. 

A coordinated attack occurred in late April at the hands of the FLA and the regional al-Qaida affiliate JNIM that killed the defense minister Sadio Camara in his home and led to control being taken in several key towns in the north of the country. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy project director for the International Crisis Group think tank, said that despite the most recent attacks being “nothing comparable” to those that happened in April, reports of attacks across the border in Burkina Faso as well as across Mali could be a sign of an attempt to divert attention of the army to secure more limited gains across northern Mali. 

In the past Mali has faced insurgencies at the hands of militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group (IS), as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s northern region. Alongside Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have also been battling with al-Qaida and IS affiliates. The juntas in the three countries turned from Western allies to Russia for help with combating the Islamic militants, however the security situation has worsened with a record number of attacks. 

The Associated Press, Maghrebi.org.