Mali’s army and its Russian mercenary allies surrendered a strategic northern military stronghold to armed rebels on Friday, as Tuareg separatists and jihadists waged a unified front to bring down the country’s junta.
Forces at Mali’s Tessalit military base, a “super-camp” near the Algerian border, surrendered and were scattering southward, an official from the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) told AFP.
The FLA’s allies, jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), are calling for cooperation to bring down the junta that has run Mali since 2020.
Friday’s assault follows large-scale, fatal attacks at the weekend by the separatist and jihadist rebels on key junta strongholds across Mali.