Coordinated Assaults Erupt Across Mali’s Northern and Central Regions

Tuareg-led armed group says it attacked northern town where Malian troops and Russian fighters are based.

Published On 4 Jul 20264 Jul 2026

Armed assailants have carried out attacks in five locations throughout Mali, occurring just over two months after gunmen targeted the capital and other regions of the country.

The assaults occurred on Saturday in several areas, including a northern town that hosts Malian government forces alongside Russian troops, and a town south of the capital, Bamako, according to Mali’s military and security sources.

The army reported that the attacks targeted the towns of Aguelhok, Anefis, Gao, Sevare, and Kenieroba.

AFP reported that the prison complex in Kenieroba was also attacked, citing local residents and security officials.

According to the report, the fighting began at approximately 5 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT).

A Tuareg‑led armed group confirmed that it had attacked the northern Malian town early on Saturday.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), told Reuters that fighters from the group attacked the town of Anefis in the northeastern Kidal region.

Following attacks on April 25 and 26, during which the FLA and an al‑Qaeda affiliate seized control of Kidal, government and Russian forces had been deployed in Anefis.

Ramadane also told AFP that “several positions have fallen, but fighting is still ongoing within the city” of Anefis.

An Anefis resident told AFP that “armed groups are present in the town, but the army is still resisting. The camp has not yet fallen.”

Anefis and Aguelhok, both located in the north, remain the last sites where Mali’s army maintains a presence in the Kidal region, following the April attacks.

Meanwhile, in the central city of Gao, a local official told Reuters that gunfire and rockets had been launched at a military camp before dawn, though it was not immediately clear which fighters were responsible.

In Sevare, another central town, “explosions were heard … around 5 a.m., though their origin remains unclear. Shortly thereafter, several aircraft were spotted flying over the area,” a security source told AFP.

In Kenieroba, the large prison complex was also under attack, according to a prisoner quoted by AFP.

Saturday’s assault represents the latest threat to the military‑led government in the landlocked Sahel country, where rebels carried out high‑profile attacks in April, striking the capital Bamako’s airport, killing the defence minister, and seizing a series of army bases in the north.

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