Mali army and Russian Africa Corps retake Anefis after days of fighting with Tuareg rebels and JNIM
Malian troops and Russian paramilitaries re-entered the northern town of Anefis on Friday after a rebel alliance had seized it during coordinated attacks that began on Saturday, with a large reinforcement convoy ambushed en route.
The battle for Anefis
Coordinated attacks by the Al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM and the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) began on Saturday, 5 July, striking military positions from Anefis, Aguelhoc and Gao in the north to Sevare in the centre and Kenioroba south of Bamako. Malian armed forces said all attacks were repelled, but rebels claimed control of Anefis, a town crucial for maintaining a grip on the northern centre of Kidal, which the same alliance captured in April.
Our troops engaged in combat this Thursday near Tabankort against the reinforcement force, which is composed 90% of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers.
By Friday, 10 July, the Malian army had retaken the town, according to rebel sources and a military source cited by Le Monde and Le Figaro. Russian paramilitaries and Malian soldiers remained in control of a military camp in Anefis throughout the fighting, AFP reported.
The ambushed convoy
A large convoy carrying reinforcements from Gao toward Anefis was attacked on Thursday, roughly 100 km from its destination. Three sources told Reuters the convoy transported more than 200 Russian Africa Corps fighters and over 100 Malian soldiers, with around 60 vehicles including military hardware. The FLA claimed responsibility for the ambush.
A Malian security source told AFP the convoy of "dozens of vehicles with air cover" fell into "another ambush." The previous Sunday, a first reinforcement convoy from Gao had also been ambushed and forced to turn back. Both sides reported destroying vehicles and equipment. A security source told RFI that Malian soldiers and their Russian partners destroyed several vehicles belonging to armed groups, while separatists claimed to have downed drones and destroyed armoured vehicles.
- JNIM and FLA launch coordinated attacks across Mali, claim control of Anefis.
- First army reinforcement convoy from Gao is ambushed and forced to turn back.
- Second convoy with 200 Russian fighters and 100 Malian soldiers is attacked near Tabankort. FLA claims responsibility.
- Rebel artillery shells the military camp in Anefis held by Malian and Russian forces.
- Malian army announces it has retaken control of Anefis.
External air support
Three Reuters sources stated that the military junta of Niger, an ally of the Malian junta, provided air support during the fighting. N-tv confirmed that Niger's air force came to the aid of the attacked convoy. No official statements from the Malian or Nigerien militaries had been issued at the time of reporting.
- Russia Africa Corps
- 200 personnel
- Malian soldiers
- 100 personnel
A widening conflict
Saturday's attacks extended across the full length of Mali, from Anefis in the north to Kenioroba south of the capital Bamako. The same JNIM-FLA alliance had killed Mali's then-defence minister and struck Bamako's airport in an April operation. The Tuareg rebellion first erupted in 2012, paused under a 2015 peace deal that has since collapsed, and resumed with the founding of the FLA in 2024.
Mali's military government ended cooperation with French-led missions and the UN peacekeeping operation, turning instead to Russia's Africa Corps, the successor to the Wagner mercenary group, as its security partner. Neither French military interventions nor the UN mission, in which the Bundeswehr also participated, managed to pacify the conflict.
