APA – Bamako (Mali) – The Malian city of Kidal has been under the control of rebels since 2012.
The situation remains tense, with sporadic fighting reported on the outskirts of the town, which is still controlled by the rebels of the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD).
This situation has caused many residents to flee to the Algerian border.
There is confusion about the outcome of the latest skirmish which looks like a reconquest of the city by the Malian state, whose presence there has been very limited for a decade.
Since Saturday, November 11, the Malian armed forces have intensified operations to retake the northern city.
This operation is still faces resistance by the rebels as both sides use heavy weapons, and army fighter jets sometimes intervene to bombard positions held by the insurgents.
For the moment, the information still paints a very confusing and contradictory picture even if the Malian armed forces have not yet managed to enter Kidal.
According to several sources, they are at the gates of the city. This was confirmed in a communiqué issued by the General Staff on Monday, November 13.
“In its mission to restore the sovereignty of the State over the entire national territory, the FAMa has continued its strategic movement in the Kidal region,” the statement reads, stressing that “in its advance towards the city of Kidal, the armed forces have thwarted a series of ambushes by the Coalition of Armed Terrorist Groups (GAT) in the rugged terrains of the region.
The results of this offensive are even more confusing, with the rebels admitting only a few casualties within their own ranks and inflating the figures for their opponents, while the Malian armed forces remain reticent.
Independent sources, however, estimate that casualties on both sides are very high. Most of the soldiers come from the town of Anefis, 112 km south of Kidal, which was recaptured from the rebels on October 7.
The clashes for Kidal had been expected since last August, when fighting between the CSP-PSD rebels and the Malian armed forces resumed over control of the camps of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), located in the north of the country and occupied by the militia.
In addition, the highest Malian authorities, often through the voice of Prime Minister Choguel Maïga, have reaffirmed their desire to retake the UN mission’s camps and, by extension, the national territory, particularly in areas beyond state control.
Kidal, the scene of several rebellions since 1963, has always been like a pebble in the boot of the state, which has always monitored the situation with concern and has always sought to reassert its territorial sovereignty there.
In the current situation, insecurity and remoteness make it difficult to gather reliable information on the ground, even as both sides continue to claim victory over the other. The rebels even cut the telephone network in Kidal last Friday in anticipation of an imminent offensive by the Malian army.
This escalation of fighting in northern Mali comes after the ongoing MINUSMA withdrawal, which is due to end on December 31, and the resulting race for control of the territory.
The central authorities are demanding the return of the camps in the region, while the rebels are refusing.
In this context, jihadist groups are also carrying out attacks to consolidate their hold.
MD/ac/lb/as/APA