The Malian army claimed on Saturday it had taken “complete control” of a stopover towards Kidal, the stronghold of the Tuareg separatist insurgency. “The FAMA [forces armées maliennes] Took this early [samedi] Tomorrow, total control of the city of Anefis. Evaluations are underway,” the army said in a statement. “We call on the population to calm down. “Everything is being done to ensure the safety of people and their property,” the text says. Anéfis is about 110 km south of Kidal, a rebel stronghold in northeastern Mali.
Almou Ag Mohamed, a spokesman for the Coordination of the Azawad Movements (CMA), a Tuareg-dominated alliance of separatist groups, confirmed to AFP that Anéfis was now under state control. “The terrorist forces of Wagner and his ally Fama are in Anefis. But Anefis is not a big issue for us. We are at war, a war that will last a long time and will not be fought in one position. Anefis is just a position and the front is mobile,” he assured. “We saw that [samedi] Tomorrow in the city of Anéfis the white mercenaries of Wagner and the FAMa,” confirmed a witness on the scene contacted by AFP.
On Monday, a convoy left Gao
The junta ruling Mali says it has used the services of “trainers” as part of bilateral cooperation with Russia and denies the presence of Wagner, although the presence of the Russian security group is widely assumed by the other actors operating in Mali.
A Malian army convoy consisting of dozens of vehicles and armored vehicles left Gao for Kidal on Monday. It has been under attack ever since. The motorcade advances slowly, fueling speculation about their destination and goals.
Statements that are difficult to verify
An offensive on rebel bases in the Kidal region could be a turning point after a decade of conflict, as attacks by separatist groups and jihadists from the al-Qaeda-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) increase against Malian army camps in the north and center of the country. Groups affiliated with the Islamic State organization also continue to operate, particularly in the east.
The Tuareg rebellion claimed earlier Thursday that it had stopped the convoy’s advance and shot down an army plane in Tabankort, south of Anéfis. The claims of all the protagonists are difficult to verify in these remote areas. Access to independent sources is difficult in the context of hostilities and military rule.