Mali came under renewed pressure on Saturday after jihadists and their Tuareg separatist allies launched coordinated attacks on several towns and a prison, triggering fierce fighting across parts of the country.
The violence began around 5:00 am GMT, with attacks reported in Gao, Anefis, Aguelhok, Sevare and the Kenieroba prison complex, according to the army, residents and security sources.
The latest offensive comes just over two months after similar assaults on the ruling military junta that claimed the life of the country’s defence minister.
Heavy fighting was reported in Anefis, one of the last remaining military strongholds in the Kidal region.
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said, “several positions have fallen, but fighting is still underway inside the city”.
A resident in the town painted a picture of an uncertain battlefield, saying, “armed groups are in the town, but the army is still putting up resistance. The camp (there) has not yet fallen”.
Anefis and Aguelhok are among the few places where Malian troops still have a presence in the Kidal region after the major offensives of April 25 and 26. Those attacks dealt a severe setback to the military government when the strategic city of Kidal fell to FLA fighters.
In Gao, residents reported hearing sustained gunfire and loud explosions close to an army base, raising fears that fighting could spread further across northern Mali.
The unrest also reached central Mali, where explosions shook Sevare before dawn.
“Explosions rang out… around 5:00 am, though their origin is not yet known. Shortly thereafter, several aircraft were spotted flying over the area,” a security source told AFP.
Meanwhile, attackers targeted the high-security prison at Kenieroba, located a short distance from the capital, Bamako, where jihadist suspects are among those being held.
“We are under our beds, the gunfire continues,” a prisoner said, as the fighting unfolded around the facility.
