In Mali, on this Monday morning, October 2nd, an imposing column of the Malian army marched towards Kidal. A troop movement that does not go unnoticed and comes the day after a weekend in which the Malian army suffered two violent attacks by the CSP, the Permanent Strategic Framework, which brings together most of the armed groups that have signed the 2015 peace agreement since On September 12, these groups again attacked the Malian transition authorities and accused Bamako of violating the peace agreement.
Published on: 02/10/2023 – 6:53 p.m
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The Malian army column left Gao towards Anefis, which is also that of Kidal.
According to Malian security and civilian sources, this column consists of more than a hundred vehicles. The impressive convoy stopped in Tin Aouker, a few dozen kilometers north of Gao. A place where the armed CSP groups last Tuesday accused the Malian army and its Russian proxies from the Wagner Group of “terrorizing” the civilian population.
Fama column to Kidal: “We follow,” comments the CSP
The General Staff of Mali’s Armed Forces neither responded to these allegations nor provided any information about this troop movement, which does not go unnoticed and has already generated numerous comments, including on social networks. Many see this as an announcement of “the” battle(s) to come for the rebel group’s stronghold, Kidal. That the colonels who took power in Bamako just over three years ago now seem determined to take back power by force of arms.
“We follow,” comments a CSP manager laconically.
Also listen to Northern Mali: “One thing should not be forgotten, namely the position of the population towards the various actors.”
No rating in Bamba
The CSP has still not submitted a report on yesterday morning’s attack on the Bamba military camp in the Gao region. No results on the Fama site either.
On Friday evening, the Dioura camp in the Mopti region was the CSP’s target. Here too, there are no results from the Malian army. The CSP, on the other hand, claims to have caused 81 deaths, 5 prisoners and recovered a large amount of equipment. The CSP only recognizes 5 combatants killed. An unverifiable assessment from an independent source. In any case, the photos and videos sent by the CSP of the attacks on Bamba and Dioura show that the CSP fighters have clearly taken control of the places every time.
Spiral
Despite calls from almost all Malian political parties in recent days to silence the guns, despite the risks to civilians in the north and despite declarations from both camps to uphold the 2015 peace agreement, the transitional authorities and the signatory armed groups in the north are caught in a spiral of violence that seems to have no end.
A situation that can only benefit the jihadist groups Jnim, linked to al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State, which itself recently carried out particularly bloody attacks and announced a series of blockades on major roads in northern Mali.
Also read: Mali: An army position in the town of Bamba in the Gao region attacked