Civil war in Mali: Government troops recapture the city of Kidal

According to the interim government, the Malian armed forces have recaptured the northern Malian town of Kidal. The city was captured five months ago by Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and the al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM). Air and ground troops as well as the Russian paramilitary unit Afrika Korps were involved in the recapture, said government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly on state television.

The government in Bamako said troops would increase their presence to enable the return of public administration. The separatist group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said the withdrawal was in response to airstrikes by the Malian army and Russian forces. It is a temporary measure to conserve your own strength.

Mali has been plagued by Islamist militants and a Tuareg insurgency in the north for more than a decade. The military governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned away from Western partners in recent years and asked Russia for support in the fight against extremists.

The Afrika Korps has replaced the Russian mercenary group Wagner and is working with the Malian military. The Malian army withdrew from Kidal in April after a series of attacks across the country that killed Defense Minister Sadio Camara.

Sahel expert Rida Lyammouri described the recapture of Kidal as a “big symbolic victory for the central government.”

The Bundeswehr ended its year-long deployment as part of the UN Minusma mission in Mali at the end of 2023 after relations with the junta increasingly deteriorated. One analyst described the capture of Kidal as “symbolic” but not “decisive” in the fight against the insurgents. (ap/rtr)