The Malian army announced on Tuesday (November 14th) that it had taken Kidal from Tuareg separatists who had held the strategic city in the north of the country for a decade. The city had become a major sovereignty issue for the Malian central state.

"Today our armed and security forces have taken over Kidal," junta leader Colonel Assimi Goïta said in a message read out during a special flash on state television.

The rebellion acknowledged the loss of Kidal. The Permanent Strategic Framework (PSC), an alliance of armed rebel groups, admitted in a statement that it had withdrawn from the city "for strategic reasons" after resisting the advance of the army and the Wagner group for several days by "inflicting great human and material losses".

"The struggle continues," he vowed, speaking of a "new stage" and calling for a "permanent mobilization."

An old sting

The capture of Kidal is a significant symbolic success for the junta, which in 2020 forcibly seized the leadership of this country, which has been facing the spread of jihadism and a deep security and political crisis since 2012. It has been welcomed by a number of parties and organizations.

It completes a ground and air offensive launched at the end of last week. The operation involved Wagner mercenaries, according to rebels and other sources, such as elected officials, while the junta denies the presence in the country of the decried Russian private security group.

The extent of the military's control on the ground is unclear. Authorities have not released an image. The collection and verification of information is complicated by the impossibility of access to the field. Separatist rebels cut off the telephone network on Friday as the army advanced towards the city.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces informs national and international opinion that the #FAMa took up positions in the city of #Kidal this Tuesday, November 14, 2023. pic.twitter.com/Fxg8WSbBoZ

— Malian Armed Forces (@FAMa_DIRPA) November 14, 2023

Kidal, the historic centre of the independence uprisings and a crossroads on the road to Algeria, located more than 1,500 km and 24 hours by car from the capital Bamako, has been emptied of a large part of its inhabitants, according to messages posted on social networks.

Two officers told AFP on condition of anonymity that the rebels had left the town when the soldiers entered.

The Malian army and state had barely regained a foothold in Kidal since May 2014. Malian forces were driven out when a visit by then-Prime Minister Moussa Mara led to clashes with Tuareg rebels, which caused heavy casualties in the army's ranks.

The rebels, who had risen up two years earlier at the same time as the Salafists, agreed to a ceasefire with the government a few days later. They had been in charge of security and law enforcement in Kidal since then. The jihadists, for their part, have continued to fight the Malian state and any foreign presence, and have extended their activities to central Mali and neighbouring countries.

The separatists resumed hostilities in August. The withdrawal of MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping operation in Mali pushed out by the junta, has triggered a race for control of territory between armed actors in the north (army, separatists, jihadists).

The junta has long signalled its determination to retake Kidal.

The insubordination of Kidal and its region, where the army suffered humiliating defeats between 2012 and 2014, was a long-standing source of irritation in Bamako, including for the current junta, which has made the restoration of territorial sovereignty its mantra.

"Liberators"

By withdrawing from Kidal on 31 October, MINUSMA created a draught. A large military column that has been stationed since the beginning of October in Anefis, about 110 km to the south, set off at the end of last week in the direction of the city. It was attacked by the rebels on the way. No human or material toll could be established by independent sources.

Several civilians, including children, were killed in airstrikes, according to residents and rebels, which the army denied.

See alsoMalian army operation near Kidal: war of images and fake news

The junta leader spoke of "heavy losses" inflicted on the enemy. "Our mission is not complete. I recall that it consists of recovering and securing the integrity of the territory," he said.

Mali's foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, spoke on social media of "considerable progress" that "demonstrates the relevance of the strategic choices made by Mali".

The Collective for the Defence of the Military, one of the junta's most active affiliates, called for a rally in Bamako on Tuesday to thank the "liberating colonels".

With AFP

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