Rebel Alliance Claims Full Seizure of Kidal

(MENAFN) The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition of Tuareg-led insurgents, announced late Saturday that its fighters had secured “total control” over the northern Malian city of Kidal. This development followed a military operation detailed in an official communiqué issued by the group’s executive bureau.

According to the alliance, only “a small residual pocket of resistance” persists. This remaining opposition reportedly includes Russian mercenaries associated with the Africa Corps alongside Malian troops positioned within a former UN peacekeeping base, previously operated under the MINUSMA mission.

The announcement emerged shortly after Mali’s transitional authorities reported that synchronized assaults by armed factions had struck multiple cities on Saturday. These attacks resulted in injuries to 16 individuals, including both civilians and military personnel.

Government officials stated that national security units successfully repelled the offensives in Bamako, Kati, Sevaré, Gao, and Kidal. They added that several assailants were eliminated and that order had been reestablished across the affected areas.

“At present, the situation is totally under control,” the government declared, commending the armed forces for their swift action while also calling on citizens to remain alert.

Meanwhile, the FLA indicated that the operation was carried out “in partnership with the JNIM,” a militant organization linked to al-Qaeda. It characterized the campaign as a joint effort that included strikes on military installations in Gao. The group further explained that these moves form part of a larger plan aimed at asserting territorial dominance and ensuring what it described as the safety of local communities.

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