BAMAKO, Mali — A deadly ambush on a Malian military convoy in the country’s troubled north on Saturday left scores of soldiers either dead or taken captive, according to the rebel groups who carried out the attack.
Mali’s army acknowledged the assault in an official statement, confirming that armed groups targeted a convoy of Malian soldiers and their partners in a remote area of the northern Gao region. The military offered few additional details, stating only that “a counterattack is underway.”
Two separate armed factions — the regional al-Qaida affiliate known as JNIM and the separatist Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA — each issued statements claiming they carried out the attack together. Both groups described “great human losses” and “serious material damage” suffered by the Malian army.
According to the rebel groups, the convoy included both Malian army personnel and members of Russia’s Africa Corps, a force that has been operating alongside Mali’s military in the region.
Security analysts say the growing cooperation between JNIM and the FLA represents a significant and dangerous threat to Mali’s stability and its ruling military government.
FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane described the scale of the attack, saying: “There were many soldiers killed, others captured alive. Army cars including armored cars were destroyed and others seized in good condition.”
The convoy had been traveling from the northern town of Anefis toward Gao city when it was struck in the Sahara desert. The exact purpose of the convoy was not immediately known, though the presence of fuel tankers in the column suggested it may have been a logistics mission.
Videos shared by the rebel groups purportedly showed soldiers lined up and appearing to surrender while surrounded by militants and military vehicles. One video appeared to show rebels firing on soldiers lying on the ground, while other footage showed soldiers being transported in vehicles belonging to the armed groups. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
The attack is the most recent in a string of militant strikes against Malian security forces in recent months, as armed factions compete for power and territory across the broader Sahel region. Mali is a landlocked country situated within the Sahel, a vast stretch of land running along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert that has become a hotbed of extremist activity in recent years.
In northern Mali, Tuareg-led separatist movements have long sought to establish an independent state called Azawad. In 2024, these groups united under the banner of the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA.
The FLA and JNIM have been increasingly coordinating their operations against Malian forces. Their partnership was on full display in April, when they carried out what was described as the largest coordinated attack in the West African nation in more than a decade.
