Key facts
- The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) has begun withdrawing from Anefis, a strategic town in northern Mali.
- The withdrawal follows days of fighting against Malian army forces and Russia's paramilitary Africa Corps.
- Anefis is a key link between the northern cities of Gao and Kidal.
- Malian army forces reported conducting airstrikes and destroying insurgent vehicles.
- The Malian army stated it is continuing joint operations with the Africa Corps.
A Tuareg-led separatist group, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), has begun withdrawing from the strategic northern Mali town of Anefis after days of fighting. The withdrawal, confirmed by a rebel spokesperson and the army on Friday, comes after armed forces, including members of Russia's paramilitary Africa Corps, pushed them out.
The FLA, along with the regional al Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), had attacked army positions across Mali, including Anefis, over the weekend. The town is strategically important as it links Gao, the largest city in the north, to Kidal, which was seized by FLA fighters earlier this year.
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, an FLA spokesperson, told Reuters that the group's fighters decided to withdraw on Thursday following a week of clashes with military convoys advancing from Gao. Heni Nsaibia, a senior analyst for West Africa at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project, noted that the battle for Anefis would indicate whether insurgents could reverse the army's significant military gains since late 2023.
Mali's armed forces stated on Friday that they were continuing joint operations with the Africa Corps nationwide. In the preceding 24 hours, the army reported conducting 15 airstrikes, destroying 12 combat vehicles and killing approximately 100 insurgents. The army also confirmed that its operations had secured the route to Anefis, with a second military convoy arriving the previous night after the FLA attacked two convoys earlier in the week.