Jihadists and Tuareg separatist fighters launched a new wave of coordinated assaults across Mali early Saturday, hitting army positions, towns, and a prison in the north and centre of the country.
The attacks began around 5:00 am GMT and were reported in Gao, Anefis, Aguelhok, and Sevare, as well as the Kenieroba prison complex about 50km from Bamako.
According to the army, local residents, and security sources, the strikes mirror a similar offensive carried out more than two months ago. In those April 25 and 26 attacks, the same groups killed Mali’s defence minister and took control of the strategic northern city of Kidal.
In Anefis, a spokesman for the Azawad Liberation Front, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, told AFP that “several positions have fallen, but fighting is still underway inside the city.” A resident said armed groups were in the town while the army continued to resist, adding that “the camp has not yet fallen.”
Anefis and Aguelhok are now the last towns in the Kidal region where the Malian army still maintains a presence, following the losses in April.
In Gao, residents reported gunfire and “loud blasts” near an army camp. In central Mali, a security source said “explosions rang out” in Sevare around 5:00 am, with military aircraft later seen flying over the area. The cause of the explosions has not been confirmed.
The Kenieroba prison, which holds jihadist detainees among others, also came under attack. One prisoner told AFP by phone: “We are under our beds, the gunfire continues.”
The latest offensive puts further pressure on Mali’s ruling military junta, which has struggled to hold territory in the north since the April setbacks.
