Mali launches airstrikes as northern fighting intensifies

The Malian army launched airstrikes on the strategic town of Anefis on July 6 as fighting with the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM and the Tuareg-led FLA intensified in northern Mali, according to Africa News.

This comes two days after the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM and the Tuareg-led FLA initiated a joint offensive against Malian government forces and their Russian allies in an apparent bid to seize strategic areas of northern Mali. 

The offensive marks the latest escalation in Mali’s conflict, with an Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) analyst saying control of Anefis could influence military access and supply routes across northern Mali

The offensive comes two months after a coordinated April campaign, in which the FLA and JNIM captured Kidal and carried out other attacks, including one that killed Mali’s Defence Minister, Sadio Camara.

The recent attacks began on July 4, when FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said that the group entered Anefis, a strategically important town about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Kidal.

According to the Malian army, Russian Africa Corps personnel and Malian soldiers remained inside a military camp as fighting continued into the evening of 6 July. In a statement to AFP, a security source said that, “This morning, the rebels and their JNIM allies fired shells at the camp where the Russian fighters from Africa Corps and Malian army soldiers are entrenched. Last night, reports indicated that the Russians used kamikaze drones.”

A local official told AFP that FLA reinforcements reached Anefis early on July 6, arriving in multiple armed vehicles.

Speaking to the AFP, a Malian military official at the Gao army general staff said, “The fighting continued today (Monday) and will even continue tomorrow (Tuesday). Our men are holding the camp, that’s for sure.”

According to another security source who spoke to AFP, Malian army reinforcements that departed from Gao and advanced south on July 5 were forced to retreat after being attacked by the FLA. Wamaps, a group of security-specialised journalists, reported that between five and eight military vehicles were destroyed during the clash.

On July 6, the army announced that it had conducted a series of airstrikes on what it described as “strategic points” and the centre of Anefis, claiming the attacks had “neutralised” multiple JNIM and FLA fighters.

 The African Union stated on July 5 that it “strongly condemned the coordinated terrorist attacks.”

AU Commission chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf added that, “These attacks are a stark reminder that terrorism and violent extremism continue to pose a serious threat to Mali, the Sahel and the African continent as a whole.”

Following the coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali has remained under military rule.

Despite promises from junta leaders to restore peace in Mali, a nation gripped by a security crisis since 2012, these efforts have yet to bring stability to the region.

Africa news and agencies, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), Maghrebi.org