BAMAKO, Mali — Mali’s military declared Friday that it has successfully lifted a rebel blockade surrounding a strategically important army base in the country’s northern region, as the ruling military government continues to battle a resurgent offensive by separatist fighters and militants with ties to al-Qaida.
The base at Anéfis sits between the separatist-held town of Kidal and the military-controlled town of Gao. Late Thursday, separatists belonging to the Azawad Liberation Front, known as the FLA, announced they had attacked a large convoy carrying reinforcements for the Malian army — which also included allied Russian Africa Corps fighters and local militias — effectively cutting off the base from outside support.
By Friday, however, the FLA acknowledged pulling its forces out of the area following intense combat.
Mali’s military stated that within the previous 24 hours, “12 combat vehicles were destroyed and nearly 100 terrorists were neutralized.” The military did not release updated figures on its own casualties, including those at Anéfis.
In a social media statement released Friday, the Malian army said a substantial logistics and reinforcement convoy had successfully traveled overnight from Gao to Anéfis. The military credited combined air and ground operations for allowing forces to retake the area “despite several ambushes by the terrorist armed groups of the JNIM, the FLA and their affiliates.”
FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane offered a different explanation for the withdrawal, saying “ultimately, we decided to withdraw so we could better organize ourselves.” He also claimed that military forces from Niger and Burkina Faso had joined in support of Mali’s army. Ramadane said his group suffered “five dead and about 10 wounded” and alleged that the combined forces — including Russia’s Africa Corps — sustained “many deaths.”
Neither the military’s nor the separatists’ accounts could be confirmed by independent sources.
The current crisis began last week when FLA fighters targeted several towns in northern Mali, including Gao, and placed the Anéfis military camp under siege. The Malian army had been working to break through ever since. A first relief convoy was ambushed the previous Sunday, according to the FLA. Video and images purportedly showing a downed helicopter and burned military vehicles spread widely on social media.
Mali has long struggled with armed insurgencies from groups affiliated with both al-Qaida and the Islamic State, alongside a separatist movement in its northern territories, where fighters have sought for years to establish an independent state.
In April, the FLA and the regional al-Qaida affiliate JNIM carried out some of the deadliest attacks seen in more than a decade, killing Mali’s defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, at his home and seizing control of several key northern towns.
Mali’s military government is led by Gen. Assimi Goita.
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have all been grappling with jihadist violence. After military coups in each country, their respective juntas shifted away from Western partnerships and turned to Russia for assistance in fighting Islamic militants. Despite that change, the security situation has continued to deteriorate, with militant attacks reaching record levels. Government troops and Russian fighters have also faced accusations of killing civilians suspected of cooperating with militant groups.
