Malian military lock horns with rebel groups in renewed hostilities
Renewed hostilities have been reported between the Malian Army, Tuareg separatists, and rebel groups in the northern Kidal region on Sunday. The clashes were reported by military, political, and insurgent sources, with no casualties confirmed, according to AFP.
Clashes began a day earlier, as the army announced Thursday that it was starting “strategic movements aimed at securing and eradicating all terrorist threats in the Kidal region”.
The Kidal desert area, an essential region on the way to Algeria and a previous hotspot of insurgency, is home to approximately 25,000 people.
The military rulers in the West African country have made it a priority to re-establish sovereignty over all regions since taking power in a coup in 2020.
Mali has been struggling with internal security challenges following the outbreak of the Tuareg insurgency in 2012, inflicting heavy defeats on the army before agreeing to a ceasefire in 2014 and a peace deal in 2015.
The 2012 clash coincided with the fight against extremist terrorists that has spread to Burkina Faso and Niger.
