Key facts
- A Tuareg-led insurgent group, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), claimed responsibility for attacking Anefis in northern Mali.
- Anefis is a town where government troops and Russian paramilitary forces are reportedly based.
- Residents in two other localities in northern and central Mali reported hearing gunfire and explosions.
- The attack is the latest in a series of threats to Mali's military-led government.
- Gunfire and rockets were also reported near a military camp in the central city of Gao.
A Tuareg-led insurgent group, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), claimed on Saturday to have attacked the town of Anefis in northeastern Mali, a location reportedly housing government troops and Russian paramilitary forces. Residents in two other towns in northern and central Mali also reported hearing gunfire and explosions.
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the FLA, told Reuters that fighters from the group launched the assault early Saturday morning. This incident follows a series of high-profile attacks by rebels in April, which included an assault on the airport in the capital, Bamako, the killing of the defense minister, and the seizure of several army bases in the north.
In the central city of Gao, a local official stated that gunfire and rockets had been directed at a military camp since before dawn on Saturday. The identity of the perpetrators of the Gao attack remains unclear. A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.