Rebels pressure Mali’s junta as it struggles for control
DAKAR – In the wake of fresh, coordinated attacks in Mali by jihadists and their Tuareg allies, the country’s junta appears more threatened and isolated than ever in the capital Bamako and the nearby garrison stronghold of Kati. Just over two months after launching a major offensive that weakened the military rulers, Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists... The post Rebels pressure Mali’s junta as it struggles for control appeared first on New Era .
DAKAR – In the wake of fresh, coordinated attacks in Mali by jihadists and their Tuareg allies, the country’s junta appears more threatened and isolated than ever in the capital Bamako and the nearby garrison stronghold of Kati. Just over two months after launching a major offensive that weakened the military rulers, Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists and Tuareg FLA separatists carried out a new wave of assaults Saturday, in localities that stretched across the country.
The demonstration of their ability to harass the central government laid bare the junta’s difficulty in controlling the vast, Sahel nation.
The rebels attacked several key towns in the north and centre, as well as one of the country’s largest prisons, located a few dozen kilometres (miles) south of the capital.
In the northern Kidal region, the FLA claimed control of the town of Anefis, where Russian paramilitaries remain entrenched in a military camp, with fighting continuing into Sunday. The FLA reported additional intense combat Sunday afternoon after it ambushed a convoy of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers that was travelling from Gao to Anefis.
“We inflicted heavy losses on the enemy”, FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told AFP, without providing further detail.
