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Mali's army said it reopened access to the Anéfis base after heavy fighting with separatists and JNIM-linked militants. The clash highlights the worsening northern conflict as rival claims and foreign backing deepen instability.
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Bamako,UPDATED: Jul 11, 2026 00:08 IST
Mali's military said on Friday it had broken a rebel blockade around the strategic army base at Anfis in the north, as the country's junta faces a renewed offensive by separatists and al-Qaida-linked militants. The announcement came a day after separatists said they had attacked a large convoy of reinforcements heading to the base and cut it off.
Anfis lies between Kidal, which is controlled by separatists, and Gao, which is under the military government. On Friday, however, separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, said they had withdrawn after heavy fighting, while the army said a large logistics convoy from Gao had reached Anfis the previous night.
In a statement on social media, the Malian army said that in the last 24 hours, "12 combat vehicles were destroyed and nearly 100 terrorists were neutralized". It did not give an updated casualty toll for its own forces, including at Anfis.
The army said, "Operations from the air and on the ground allowed" it to retake the area "despite several ambushes by the terrorist armed groups of the JNIM, the FLA and their affiliates".
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, the FLA's spokesperson, said that "ultimately, we decided to withdraw so we could better organise ourselves". He also claimed that the militaries of Niger and Burkina Faso had come to help Mali's army. "On our side, the toll is five dead and about 10 wounded," he said, adding that the militaries involved, including Russia's Africa Corps, had suffered "many deaths".
The claims made by both the army and the separatists could not be independently verified. Last week, FLA separatists targeted several northern towns, including nearby Gao, and effectively blockaded the military camp at Anfis, which the army had been trying to relieve. The FLA said the first convoy sent by the army was ambushed last Sunday. Images on social media showed what the rebels said was a downed helicopter and burnt military trucks.
Mali has for years faced insurgencies by groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, along with a separatist rebellion in the north. The separatists have long been fighting to create an independent state in northern Mali. In April, the FLA and the regional al-Qaida affiliate JNIM launched some of the heaviest attacks in more than a decade, killing Mali's defence minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, at his home and taking control of several key northern towns.
Mali's junta is led by Gen. Assimi Goita. Along with Mali, neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso have also been battling jihadis. After military coups, the juntas in the three countries moved away from Western allies and turned to Russia for help against Islamic militants, but the security situation has worsened, with a record number of militant attacks and accusations that government forces and Russian fighters have killed civilians suspected of collaborating with militants.
Friday's developments centred on Anfis, where the army said it had reopened access to the base, while the FLA said it had pulled back after fighting, underlining the continuing conflict involving separatists, jihadist groups and the military authorities in Mali's north.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 11, 2026 00:08 IST
