Tuareg Insurgents Launch Coordinated Attacks Across Mali, Fighting Reported in Several Towns

A Tuareg-led insurgent alliance launched coordinated attacks across northern and central Mali on Saturday, targeting areas where government forces and Russian paramilitary personnel are stationed, as renewed violence underscored the country’s fragile security situation.

The fighting began around 5:00 a.m. local time, with clashes reported in the northern towns of Anefis, Gao and Aguelhok, as well as in the central town of Sevare. An attack was also reported at the Kenieroba prison complex near the capital, Bamako.

The latest offensive comes more than two months after similar attacks by armed groups against Mali’s ruling military government. Those operations dealt a significant blow to the junta and resulted in the death of the country’s defense minister.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said insurgents had made significant gains in Anefis, although fighting was continuing.

“Several positions have fallen, but fighting is still underway inside the city,” Ramadane told AFP.

A resident in Anefis confirmed that armed fighters had entered the town but said government troops were still resisting.

“Armed groups are in the town, but the army is still putting up resistance. The camp has not yet fallen,” the resident said.

Anefis and Aguelhok are among the last remaining locations in the Kidal region where Mali’s military maintains a presence. The region has become a focal point of the conflict after large-scale attacks in late April enabled the Azawad Liberation Front to capture the strategic city of Kidal, marking one of the most significant setbacks for the military government since it seized power.

Residents in Gao reported hearing sustained gunfire and powerful explosions near a military base early Saturday morning. The city has long served as one of the government’s principal military strongholds in northern Mali.

In Sevare, witnesses and security sources reported explosions shortly after dawn, followed by military aircraft flying over the area. Authorities had not confirmed the cause of the blasts, and no immediate details were available regarding casualties or damage.

Violence also reached the Kenieroba prison complex, located several dozen kilometers from Bamako. The facility houses inmates convicted or accused of terrorism-related offences, including suspected jihadist fighters.

“We are under our beds. The gunfire continues,” one prisoner told AFP by telephone during the attack.

Malian authorities had not released an official statement on the coordinated assaults by Saturday afternoon, and there was no immediate information on casualties among security forces or civilians.

Mali has faced persistent insecurity for more than a decade as government forces battle jihadist organizations linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, alongside separatist movements seeking greater autonomy in the country’s north. The military government has increasingly relied on Russian paramilitary support following the withdrawal of French forces, but armed groups have continued to launch attacks across large parts of the country, highlighting the ongoing security challenges facing the junta.