BAMAKO, Mali
Mali's military has seized
control of the northern town of Kidal, marking the first time the army has held
the Tuareg rebel stronghold in nearly a decade, state broadcaster ORTM reported
Tuesday.An aerial general view of Kidal on September 27, 2020. Mali's army on November 14, 2023 said it had entered the northern town of Kidal.
"This is a message from
the president of the transition to the Malian people," journalist
Ibrahim Traore said in his introduction to the ORTM news bulletin. "Today,
our armed and security forces have seized Kidal. Our mission is not over."
Mohamed Maouloud Ramadan, a
rebel spokesman based in neighboring Mauritania, confirmed the presence of
the Malian military in Kidal.
Soldiers from Mali's army,
accompanied by partners from Russian military contractor Wagner, have been
battling Tuareg fighters for several days in an effort to take control of the
town following the departure of United Nations peacekeepers two weeks ago.
The Chief of General Staff of
the Armed Forces informs national and international opinion that the #FAMa have
taken up position in the town of #Kidal this Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
Separatist Tuareg rebels in
the north have long sought an independent state they call Azawad. In 2012,
they dislodged the Malian military from the town, setting into motion a series
of events that destabilized the country.
Mutinous soldiers, upset about
how the Tuareg rebellion was handled in 2012, later overthrew the country's
democratically elected leader. Amid the chaos, Islamic extremists soon
seized control of the major northern towns including Kidal, imposing their
strict interpretation of Islamic law known as Shariah.
In 2013, France led a military
intervention to oust the extremists from power, but they later regrouped and
spent the next decade launching attacks on the Malian military and U.N.
peacekeepers.
Another military coup in 2020,
led by transition president Col. Assimi Goïta, resulted in deteriorating
relations with Mali's international partners. Mali's foreign minister
ordered the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA to depart, and forces
left Kidal at the beginning of November.
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