Mali’s army, Russian-backed forces push rebels out of key town

Mali’s army has regained control of the key northern town of Anefis after fighting against rebel militants for nearly a week.

This development was confirmed by both the military and representatives of the separatists on July 10, as reported by The Defense Post.

Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists and Tuareg separatists launched coordinated attacks in Mali last weekend, claiming control of the northern town but failing to capture a military camp there.

Paramilitaries from Russia’s Africa Corps and a contingent of Malian soldiers remained entrenched in the camp, which they continued to defend.

Reinforcements arrived late on July 9 evening and retook Anefis, which is located about 100 kilometers from the rebel-controlled city of Kidal.

“I can tell you that Malian troops and the Africa Corps partners broke through the obstacles and arrived in Anefis to reinforce our troops who were on the ground,” a Mali military source told AFP, as the outlet cites.

A convoy of dozens of vehicles, backed by air support, set out from the major city of Gao, reaching Anefis despite rebel attacks along the way.

“Air-ground operations made it possible to secure the route and the convoy’s entry into the town, despite several skirmishes and ambushes carried out by armed terrorist groups,” Mali’s armed forces said in a statement, claiming to have neutralized “nearly a hundred” fighters.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the FLA, an ethnic-Tuareg separatist movement, told AFP his group had “decided to leave Anefis for strategic reasons and to avoid civilian casualties.”

By Nazrin Sadigova