Tuareg rebels withdraw from strategic town of Kidal in northern Mali

The Azawad Liberation Front said sustained air strikes by Malian troops and Russian allies forced its tactical retreat.

A damaged school in northern Mali, where rebel forces have withdrawn after facing attacks by government forces and their Russian allies [File: AFP]

Mali’s Tuareg rebels have announced they are withdrawing from the strategic town of Kidal, in the north of the country.

The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a coalition formed in 2024 uniting Tuareg and northern separatist factions, said in a statement on Tuesday that it had decided to carry out a “controlled withdrawal” from Kidal six months after capturing the town and amid fresh air strikes by Mali’s military backed by Russian fighters.

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“The FLA specifies that this is a temporary operational measure, also intended to preserve its human and logistical capabilities intact. This methodical withdrawal from the area took place without any direct combat having yet pitted its forces against the enemy,” the statement said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mali’s military said it had launched large-scale air and ground operations in the region ⁠⁠around Kidal.

The goals of the operations included “tracking down and neutralizing” armed groups ⁠⁠in the area, destroying their supply networks, and restoring “lasting security” and free movement for people and goods, a Malian military statement said.

Pro-government fighters, including Russian paramilitaries, re-entered Kidal on Tuesday afternoon, a security source said.

Mali has been gripped by conflict since 2012, when a Tuareg separatist rebellion in the north was overtaken by al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants, who later consolidated under Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in 2017.

While the FLA presents itself as a secular nationalist movement seeking independence for Mali’s Azawad region and JNIM is an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, the two sides have set ideological differences aside to confront the Malian government.

The FLA says it remains committed to independence for Azawad, the name separatists use for northern Mali, while JNIM says it is fighting to “liberate” Mali and overthrow the government.

The military has ruled the country since a 2021 coup, pledging to restore order and unity.

JNIM has gained in strength ‌‌since the Malian soldiers who seized power expelled French forces and some 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers, ‌‌and turned to Russian paramilitaries for defence support.

Since the FLA and JNIM launched a joint offensive in April, the conflict has escalated with increasing attacks on the military-backed government forces.

The Malian government says it is working to restore state authority and dismantle what it calls a “terrorist alliance” between the FLA and JNIM.

阿扎瓦德解放阵线称，马里军队及其俄罗斯盟友的持续空袭迫使其进行战术撤退。

马里北部一所受损的学校，叛军在遭到政府军及其俄罗斯盟友的攻击后撤离。[图片：法新社]

马里图阿雷格叛军宣布，他们将从该国北部具有战略意义的城镇基达尔撤退。

成立于 2024 年，由图阿雷格人和北部分离主义派别组成的阿扎瓦德解放阵线 (FLA) 周二发表声明称，在占领基达尔镇六个月后，在马里军队和俄罗斯武装分子的支持下，该阵线决定从基达尔进行“有控制的撤退”。

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声明称：“解放军明确表示，这是一项临时作战措施，旨在保持其人员和后勤能力完好无损。此次有条不紊地从该地区撤离，并未发生任何直接战斗，其部队尚未与敌军交战。”

周二早些时候，马里军方表示，已在基达尔周边地区展开大规模空地联合行动。

马里军方在一份声明中表示，此次行动的目标包括“追踪并消灭”该地区的武装团体，摧毁其补给网络，并恢复人员和货物的“持久安全”和自由流动。

一名安全部门消息人士称，包括俄罗斯准军事部队在内的亲政府武装人员于周二下午重新进入基达尔。

自 2012 年以来，马里一直饱受冲突之苦。当时，北部图阿雷格分离主义叛乱被与基地组织有关联的伊斯兰武装分子所控制，后者于 2017 年在伊斯兰与穆斯林支持阵线（JNIM）的领导下巩固了统治。

尽管解放军自称是一个寻求马里阿扎瓦德地区独立的世俗民族主义运动，而支持伊斯兰和穆斯林组织（JNIM）是一个与基地组织有关联的团体，但双方已搁置意识形态分歧，共同对抗马里政府。

自由解放​​军表示，它仍然致力于阿扎瓦德（分离主义分子对马里北部的称呼）的独立，而支持和支持伊斯兰运动则表示，它正在为“解放”马里并推翻政府而战。

自 2021 年政变以来，军方一直统治着这个国家，并承诺恢复秩序和团结。

自夺取政权的马里士兵驱逐了法国军队和约 15,000 名联合国维和人员，并转向俄罗斯准军事部队寻求国防支持以来，JNIM 的实力不断增强。

自 4 月 FLA 和 JNIM 发起联合攻势以来，冲突不断升级，对军方支持的政府军的袭击也日益增多。

马里政府表示，它正在努力恢复国家权威，并瓦解它所称的解放军和支持伊斯兰圣战者组织之间的“恐怖主义联盟”。