Zürcher Nachrichten - Rebels take key military base in Mali's north

The west African nation is facing a critical security situation following large-scale attacks last weekend at various junta strongholds by the Tuareg-dominated FLA and Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM groups.

During those assaults, the rebels killed Mali's defence minister and took the key northern town of Kidal.

On Friday, forces from Mali's key Tessalit "super-camp" near the Algerian border surrendered the military installation and scattered southward, an official from the FLA (the Azawad Liberation Front) told AFP.

The retreat comes one day after JNIM (the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) began a road blockade on the capital, Bamako. Only people already in the city were allowed to leave.

No clashes took place at Tessalit, a security source in Gao told AFP, adding that regular troops had already evacuated when the assailants entered.

A local elected official confirmed to AFP that the Russians had also abandoned their position there.

Tessalit serves as a strategic base due to its geographical location and features a well-maintained airstrip capable of accommodating helicopters and other large military aircraft.

It had hosted a significant number of Malian troops and their Russian allies, in addition to a substantial quantity of military equipment.

"Tessalit is the oldest base built by the colonial power (France)", a military officer told AFP, adding that its position in the far north offered "a panoramic view of the entire Sahara".

Mali forces were also forced to abandon a lesser military base, Aguelhok, located some 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Tessalit, according to a local elected official and a separate FLA official Friday.

- Push to take north -

The coordinated attacks last weekend marked the largest assault in Mali in nearly 15 years.

The fierce fighting at various locations, including around Bamako, resulted in the death of at least 23 people in addition to defence minister Sadio Camara, a key junta figure.

A government tribute was held for the 47-year-old minister on Thursday, who died as a result of a car bomb at his residence in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako.

The Tuareg rebels have predicted that they will not only conquer the country's north but that the junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, will "fall".

In recent years, Mali, like neighbouring junta-led Burkina Faso and Niger, has cut ties with colonial power France and moved closer to Moscow.

The three west African neighbours banded together to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which created a joint force it says numbers some 15,000 men.

The government of Niger said late on Thursday that the three countries had "conducted intense air campaigns" following the attacks in Mali on Saturday.

While that assault marked a turning point in JNIM's fight against the Malian junta, it was far from the jihadists' only campaign in recent times.

Late last year, JNIM attempted to cripple the Malian economy by imposing blockades on the supply of petrol and diesel being trucked in from abroad, particularly from Ivory Coast and Senegal.

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E.Leuenberger--NZN