Tuareg-led rebels attack five towns across Mali, including near the capital
The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-led separatist group, launched attacks on multiple towns across Mali beginning around 5am local time, with Mali’s army reporting fighting at Aguelhok, Anefis, Gao, Sevare and Kenieroba — the last about 74km (46 miles) south of the capital, Bamako. An FLA spokesman said “several positions have fallen” in Anefis, where fighting continued inside the town. A major prison complex at Kenieroba was among the targets.
Anefis and Aguelhok hold Mali’s last army presence in the Kidal region after positions there were overrun in April. That earlier assault killed the defense minister and saw rebels seize northern bases, and the reach of Saturday’s operation — close to Bamako — signals a widening threat to a military government already stretched by the Sahel’s overlapping insurgencies. Casualty figures were not reported.