The alleged surrender of five fighters of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) in Timbuktu is the subject of a lively controversy between the Malian army and the separatist movement.
According to the Malian Armed Forces (FAMAs), five members of the FLA surrendered on the night of January 17 to the command of the 5th Military Region, handing over “a 4×4 vehicle, a 12.7mm, a PKM, five AK-47s” and ammunition. Colonel Seydou Bassirou Niangado, zone commander, welcomed “the initiative of the lost brothers who decided to return to the republic”.
A radically different version from the FLA, which claims in a press release that these are “four individuals” who “stole a vehicle and its military equipment” during a leave.
The movement denounces a “stratagem orchestrated” by the “Bamako junta” in exchange for financial compensation.
“Since the resumption of the war (…) in 2023, never has a vehicle and its weapons belonging to our Movement been taken by the FAMAs or their mercenary allies from Wagner,” the FLA spokesperson stresses, promising that the “perpetrators of this breach of trust” will have to “answer for their actions.”
After retaking the city of Kidal in November 2023, the Malian army, accompanied by Russian instructors, is increasing operations in northern Mali against independence movements and jihadist groups.
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA