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Mali’s army says rebels launch new attacks on towns and cities
Al Jazeera • • general
Key Points:
- Armed men launched coordinated attacks on five locations across Mali on Saturday, targeting northern towns with government and Russian forces, as well as areas south of the capital, Bamako.
- The Mali army reported killing 26 attackers in Sevare and Gao, with one pro-government fighter killed and four injured; the situation was declared "totally under control."
- The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led separatist group, confirmed attacking Anefis in the northeastern Kidal region, where government and Russian troops had been deployed following previous clashes.
- The attacks included an assault on a prison in Kenieroba, 74 km from Bamako, though security forces reportedly repelled the assailants; fighting also involved gunfire, rockets, and explosions in multiple towns.
- This latest violence follows high-profile rebel attacks in April that targeted Bamako’s airport, killed the defense minister, and resulted in the seizure of northern army bases, amid ongoing instability from Islamist and separatist insurgencies.
