A separatist movement in northern Mali said Tuesday it was carrying out a “controlled withdrawal” from the strategic town of Kidal after days of airstrikes by Malian forces backed by Russian fighters.
The Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, said the decision to leave Kidal followed intensified military pressure from Mali’s army and its Russian allies.
Earlier Tuesday, Mali’s military announced the launch of large-scale air and ground operations across the Kidal region.
A source close to the FLA leadership told Reuters that aerial operations around the town had begun three days earlier.
It was not immediately clear how close Malian ground forces were to Kidal or whether government troops would move directly into the town following the separatist withdrawal.
Kidal has repeatedly changed hands during Mali’s long-running conflict and remains one of the most strategically and symbolically important towns in the country’s north.
The FLA, together with fighters from the Al Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, seized Kidal in April during a wave of coordinated attacks across Mali. The offensive also killed the country’s defence minister.
Malian forces and fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group had previously recaptured Kidal from insurgents in November 2023, marking one of the most significant battlefield gains achieved through Bamako’s partnership with Moscow.
Mali has been ruled by military leaders since coups in 2020 and 2021 and has increasingly relied on Russian security support after distancing itself from France and other Western partners.
Russian assistance was initially provided largely through Wagner, before Moscow shifted operations in Mali to the Africa Corps, a force that includes many former Wagner personnel.
The latest offensive could open the way for Malian forces to regain Kidal once again, although the security situation across northern Mali remains volatile amid continued activity by separatist and jihadist groups.
