The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) announced on Tuesday the withdrawal of its fighters from Kidal.
On the same day, the Malian army confirmed an air-ground operation conducted with its Russian partners in the region, without claiming the recapture of the city.
It comes nearly six months after government forces left this strategic city in northern Mali.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, the Azawad Liberation Front declared that it had ordered the withdrawal of its fighters from the town. The movement describes this decision as temporary and asserts that it was made without direct ground combat with the Malian army.
The FLA attributes its retreat to the pressure exerted by air
operations conducted in the area.
A few hours after the release of this statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced that the Malian Armed Forces and their Russian partners had launched “large-scale air-ground operations” in the Kidal region.
According to military communications, these operations are part of restructuring the *Dougoukoloko* operation.
Kidal had slipped out of government control following coordinated attacks on April 25 against several towns and military installations across the country.
At that time, the army had redeployed part of its forces to Anefis, a town located about a hundred kilometres south of Kidal.
The following weeks were marked by fighting around Anefis, the arrival of Malian and Russian reinforcements, and air strikes on several identified positions in and around Kidal. The October 6 announcement confirms the transition to a broader phase of the military operation.
Kidal, a former stronghold of Tuareg rebel movements, had been retaken by the Malian army in November 2023 following the withdrawal of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.
The announced withdrawal of the FLA could alter the balance of power in the city.
However, effective control over Kidal and the whereabouts of the movement’s fighters remained to be established as of Tuesday afternoon, in the absence of independent confirmation or a military
statement announcing the retaking of the town.
MD/te/fss/as/APA