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A new wave of coordinated rebel attacks struck Mali on Saturday, as terrorists and their separatist Tuareg allies launched multi-front assaults on multiple towns and a major prison.
The joint offensive by Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM terrorists and Tuareg FLA separatists targeted Gao, Anefis, Aguelhoc, Sevare, and the Kenieroba prison complex near the capital.
While the ruling military junta claimed that its forces vigorously repelled the assaults and held the situation under control, local officials reported that the rebels successfully captured the strategic town of Anefis.
The widespread violence severely challenges the military regime, which seized power in recent coups promising stability but has failed to deliver.
In the northern town of Gao and central hub of Sevare, residents endured hours of heavy gunfire and loud explosions before the fighting subsided.
The military claimed it neutralised 20 terrorists in Sevare while losing one soldier in Gao, though analysts suspect the government is heavily understating its losses.
The rebels also breached security at the Kenieroba Central Detention Centre, Mali’s largest prison holding over 2,500 inmates, located just 70 kilometres from Bamako.
Strategic experts believe the alliance intends to lock down the northern territory before pushing further south.
Backed by Russia’s Africa Corps, the Malian military has escalated its operations, but the persistent insurgent activity mirrors the 2012 crisis that initially fractured the country.
