Mali rebels attack convoy of Russian reinforcements headed to besieged military camp
Tuareg separatists and their jihadist allies attacked a convoy of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers Thursday morning as they travelled to help cohorts holed up at a northern military camp in the town of Anefis.
Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists and Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) Tuareg separatists launched coordinated attacks in Mali on Saturday and have claimed control of Anefis. Anefis is vital to maintaining a grip on the strategic northern town of Kidal, a city about 100 kilometres away that remains a stronghold of the Tuareg group.
Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps and a few Malian soldiers continue to hold out in a military camp in Anefis.
Kidal was recaptured by the separatists in another major offensive just over two months ago.
For Mali's government, maintaining a grip on Anefis would be a crucial step in eventually retaking Kidal. Fully wresting the town from Malian forces would allow the FLA and their jihadist allies to better resist any eventual campaign to retake the country's north.
Read more 'A common enemy, but not a common project': A fragile jihadist-separatist alliance in Mali
After an initial army reinforcement convoy from the major northern city of Gao was ambushed last Sunday, a second convoy came under attack on Thursday morning, with fierce fighting still underway.
"Our troops engaged in combat this Thursday near Tabankort (northern Mali) against the reinforcement force, which is composed 90 percent of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers", Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the FLA, told AFP.
A Malian security source confirmed that the fighting was ongoing after "the convoy heading to Anefis fell into another ambush".
The convoy consists of "dozens of vehicles with air cover", the source said.
A video released by the FLA showed heavy gunfire in a desert area.
Russia and its Africa Corps paramilitaries are helping the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – now part of the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – fight jihadist groups that have killed tens of thousands of people across much of their territories.