Mali’s army recaptures strategic northern rebel stronghold of Kidal

Mali’s army has reportedly recaptured the strategic northern town of Kidal, which has been a stronghold of Tuareg-dominated separatist rebel groups that has long posed a major sovereignty issue for the ruling junta.

“Today our armed and security forces have seized Kidal,” Colonel Assimi Goita said in a statement on Tuesday (14 November). “The (Malian Armed Forces) took up position in the town of Kidal this Tuesday,” the general staff had earlier said in a statement on social media. If confirmed, the capture of Kidal would be a significant symbolic success for Mali’s military leaders, who seized power in 2020. Violence has escalated in the country’s north since August, with the military, rebels and jihadists vying for control as the UN stabilization mission, MINUSMA, withdraws from the country and evacuates its camps, triggering a race to seize territory.

The Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), an alliance of predominantly Tuareg armed groups, also issued a statement later in the day, admitting they had lost their stronghold town but vowing to keep fighting. The army and the state have for years been virtually absent from the town of Kidal, which has been controlled by the predominantly Tuareg armed groups. But the Mali’s military junta has long signaled its determination to retake the town, as it has made the restoration of territorial sovereignty their mantra. The state had until now barely regained a foothold in Kidal since May 2014. When MINUSMA left its camp in Kidal on 31 October, the rebels immediately seized control.