Sawt Falasteen - New fighting in Mali's Kidal between army and rebels

Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition on Saturday had said they had seized the northern city of Kidal, supported by jihadist fighters.

"Fighting resumed in Kidal this morning. We want to drive out the last Russian fighters who have taken refuge in a camp," Mohamed Ramdane, a spokesman for the Tuareg rebels said on Sunday.

A local elected official confirmed the fighting.

"Today, Sunday, fighting resumed in Kidal between the Malian army, the Russians and the (Tuareg) rebels. Residents heard gunfire. There's shooting," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was retaken in November 2023 by the Malian army backed by Russia's Wagner paramilitary group, ending more than a decade of control by rebels.

The FLA also claims to have taken positions in the northern Gao region.

"The aim of the attackers was not to seize and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions in order to at least capture Kidal, which is a rather powerful symbol," a security source told AFP on Sunday.

Mali has been ravaged for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence but Saturday's attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power.

They took place on the fringes of the Malian capital Bamako and in several towns and cities across the sprawling Sahel nation.

- Residents on edge -

The fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers wounded and caused "limited material damage," the government said in a statement on Saturday evening.

It added that "the situation is totally under control in all the localities" that were attacked.

In Bamako, soldiers were stationed Sunday morning around a clinic in the city where Defence Minister Sadio Camara was admitted the previous day, according to a medical source and witnesses.

According to residents, the minister’s residence in Kati, a neighbouring town of Bamako and a stronghold of the ruling junta, was largely destroyed by a powerful explosion.

Camara's aides denied he was wounded.

In the capital, access to military facilities has been blocked by barriers and tyres on the roads, an AFP journalist said.

In the outlying district of Senou, where the airport is located and which witnessed heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was jittery.

"I still hear the blasts ringing in my ears. It's traumatising,” a resident said.

Kati was calm after "the jihadists left the area, but we are living in fear," a resident told AFP on Sunday.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned "acts of violence" in Mali.

"The Secretary‑General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali," his spokesman said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General calls for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to meet urgent humanitarian needs," spokesman Stephane Dujarric added.

Russia's Africa Corps, an organisation under direct control of the Russian defence ministry, has taken over from the mercenary Wagner group in helping Malian forces fight jihadists.

Mali has resources including gold and other valuable minerals.

Mali's rulers, like their military counterparts in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial ruler France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.

X.Habash--SF-PST