The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) have intensified military operations in the country’s north, targeting key figures within active insurgent groups.
The FAMa aims to bolster security and neutralise threats to civilians and strategic infrastructure.
On February 15, 2025, the Malian army conducted an operation 60 km north of Gossi, in the Gao region, eliminating four insurgents, including Ossama Abou Anes.
The latter was wanted for his role as a logistics coordinator between the Gourma and Haoussa regions. During the intervention, Malian forces seized a pickup truck, military equipment, and materials intended for the production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Malian military high command hailed the successful operation and reaffirmed its commitment to continuing actions against armed groups.
A few days earlier, another FAMa operation in the Taglit and Abanco areas, along the Tessalit-Aguelhoc road in the Kidal region, resulted in the neutralisation of four insurgents, including local leader Bnou Ag M’Bayarach. He was involved in an attempted overflight of Tessalit airport on February 11, 2025, as well as extortion of merchants and transporters in the region. Malian forces also destroyed the vehicle used in the airport incident and seized communication equipment along with materials for making IEDs. Three suspects were arrested during the operation.
On February 6, 2025, an attack attributed to the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS-S) targeted a civilian convoy escorted by the Malian army and members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner between Gao and Ansongo, near Kobé. According to official sources, at least 25 civilians, mostly foreign gold miners en route to the N’tahaka gold mine, were killed, and 13 others injured. The assailants also set several vehicles on fire before retreating. In response, FAMa recovered 19 terrorist bodies at the scene and are continuing operations to track down those responsible for the ambush.
The Gao region is frequently targeted by armed groups affiliated with the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). These groups often attack security forces, civilians, and transport convoys. Key roadways, such as the route linking Gao and Ansongo, remain particularly vulnerable to ambushes and acts of banditry. Malian authorities are ramping up military operations to secure these areas and dismantle insurgent networks.
Ongoing Counterterrorism Operations
In response to persistent threats, FAMa has escalated operations in the country’s north. The arrest of Mahamad Ould Erkehile, alias Abou Rakia, a high-ranking IS-S leader, on January 4, 2025, underscores the Malian forces’ commitment to dismantling insurgent networks in the Ménaka and Gao regions. This arrest follows a series of successful operations aimed at weakening armed groups’ operational capabilities.
MD/ac/sf/lb/as/APA