Malian army and Russian fighters retake key city of Kidal, abandoned by rebels

The Malian army said it has entered the strategic northern city of Kidal, which was captured in April by Tuareg separatists who announced their withdrawal earlier Tuesday as the military advanced.

"We have just arrived in Kidal ahead of schedule," a staff officer told AFP, with a second officer confirming the arrival.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the general staff claimed for the first time to have "engaged in large-scale air-land operations in the Kidal region" with its " Russian partners" in order to " neutralize armed terrorist groups," "destroyed their sanctuaries" and "sustainably restored the security of the population" and their "freedom of movement."

Retaking the city would be a powerful symbol in favor of the transitional authorities, who had been humiliated by last April's defeat.

Meanwhile, the Tuareg separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said in a statement it had "decided to carry out a strategic and controlled withdrawal of its forces from the city of Kidal", after capturing it during April attacks alongside allied jihadists who aimed to weaken Mali's junta rulers.

Starting in late April, the JNIM and the FLA launched a series of assaults, capturing the northern city of Kidal and killing Mali's defence minister. They also briefly captured the town of Anefis in fierce fighting in early July, among other assaults.

Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as local criminal gangs and separatists.

Since two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the country has been ruled by the military, which came to power on the promise of restoring security, so far without success.