Malian army eliminates senior terrorist leaders

BAMAKO, Mali

The Malian army has killed a leader and several members of a newly formed separatist rebel coalition operating in the volatile north of the country, according to information from both sides.

The army said in a statement on Monday that it had "neutralised" eight men, which it described as "high-ranking terrorist operatives, during a large-scale operation carried out in Tinzaouatene" near the Algerian border a day earlier.

A new alliance of mainly Tuareg-led armed separatist rebels on Sunday reported the deaths of seven of the eight suspects named by the army, including one of the coalition's leaders Fahad Ag Almahmoud.

The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said its members were killed in "synchronised drone strikes".

Azawad is the name of the territory claimed by the separatists in northern Mali.

The FLA had been created a day earlier in Tinzaouatene with the dissolution and merger of several separatist and pro-independence groups.

The alliance describes itself as a "politico-military entity" with "the objective of leading to the total liberation of Azawad".

The separatists resumed hostilities against the state and the army in 2023 as the United Nations stabilisation mission was pushed out by the ruling junta.

The West African country has been ravaged by jihadist violence since 2012 and has been under military rule since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Dozens of Malian soldiers and fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner were killed in Tinzaouatene at the end of July during fighting against separatist rebels and jihadists.

The junta has vowed to restore Mali's sovereignty and stability, describing both jihadists and separatists as "terrorists".

"These terrorists were involved in several targeted attacks against civilians and the FAMa (Malian Armed Forces)", the army said, referring to the eight separatists killed on Sunday.

It added that Tinzaouatene was being used by separatist fighters "as a strategic base for the planning and execution of actions harmful to the security of the region".

Sunday's operation "considerably reduced the operational potential of the terrorist group concerned", it said.

Since 2023, armed separatist groups have lost control of several towns in the north, following an offensive by the Malian army that culminated in the capture of Kidal, a bastion of independence and a major sovereignty issue for the central government.