Mali: Kidal, sous contrôle rebelle, visée par plusieurs frappes de l'armée malienne
The Malian army carried out several airstrikes on Wednesday night in Kidal (northern Mali) and warned that its "strikes will intensify" on this city controlled by Tuareg rebels and their jihadist allies of JNIM since the end of April, according to the army and witnesses.
At least four airstrikes were carried out overnight, causing material damage, a witness in Kidal who requested anonymity told AFP on Thursday.
One strike destroyed a house near an old market in the city, and another created a crater inside the vast courtyard of the Kidal governorate, according to this witness.
"We are targeting specific targets. We have our strategy. In the coming days, the strikes will intensify," an officer at the official Malian army command post in Mopti (central Mali) told AFP on Thursday.
Kidal, a strategic city in northern Mali, was unusually quiet on Thursday morning and very few vehicles were circulating, the witness said, adding that he had heard many vehicles leaving the city during the night.
Mali is in a critical security situation and gripped by uncertainty after unprecedented coordinated attacks on April 25 and 26 by jihadists from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM, allied with Al-Qaeda) and the rebellion of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) against strategic positions of the ruling junta in Bamako.
During this offensive, the rebellion and JNIM took control of Kidal, the largest city in the North, after fierce fighting.
The FLN, a predominantly Tuareg separatist rebellion also composed of Arab communities, claims the territory of Azawad in northern Mali. The rebellion has announced its intention to conquer the major cities of northern Mali.
Historically a nomadic people spread across several states – Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso – the Tuareg have been waging armed struggles for decades against their "marginalization", particularly around the key city of Kidal.
Azawad, as claimed by the FLA, refers to a vast territory located in northern Mali which corresponds to the administrative regions of Kidal, Gao, Ménaka and Timbuktu.
AFP
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