2023-10-09 12:22:10
In Mali, no more fighting between the Malian Armed Forces (Fama) and the rebels of the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP) for 48 hours. The Fama and their Russian proxies from the Wagner group entered Anefis, at the gates of the Kidal region, on the morning of October 7, 2023. This locality was until now controlled by CSP armed groups. The Malian army raised the national flag there and since then, a form of pause has been observed on the ground.
Published on: 09/10/2023 – 2:22 p.m. Modified on: 09/10/2023 – 3:24 p.m.
4 mn
No fight on Sunday October 8, no fight today this Monday October 9, but this break cannot last. The Malian army has already announced that it does not intend to stop at Anefis: it is targeting the military camps that Minusma must leave soon in Aguelhoc, Tessalit, and Kidal, as part of its disengagement from the country.
Initially, the Aguelhoc and Tessalit camps were to be liberated last month. This is still not the case, and no precise date has been communicated by the UN mission on the new calendar. As for Kidal, departure is scheduled for next month.
Malian army targets UN camps
Under UN rules, Minusma must hand over these camps to the Malian political authorities; this is what happened for the camps already liberated by the UN mission. The transitional authorities then chose to send the national army directly there, which is denounced by the CSP rebels who believe that the camps located in areas officially under their control at the time of signing the peace agreement of 2015 – and before that the ceasefire of 2014 – should return to them or be, at the very least, the subject of discussions between the authorities in Bamako and the signatory armed groups.
Read alsoMali: the army is stationed in Anéfis, with Kidal as the main objective
The arrival of Malian soldiers in these camps is therefore considered a legitimate reconquest of national territory by the Malian transitional authorities, and as a violation of the peace agreement by the CSP armed groups. A context which makes the withdrawal of UN troops even more complex.
« Eternal rest »
This weekend, for the first time since the start of the offensive launched just a week ago, the Malian army broadcast images from the front and in particular of Malian soldiers displaying their “ pride » in the newly reconquered city of Anefis.
No Wagner fighter appears in the image, Bamako continuing to officially deny their presence. Also for the first time, the Minister of Defense, Colonel Sadio Camara, spoke this weekend: he notably promised “ eternal rest » to his adversaries.
The Malian transitional authorities are delighted with the success represented by the Malian Armed Forces (Fama) in the capture of Anefis, which was until now controlled by the CSP rebels. And this at the end of two days of intense fighting, during which both camps claim to have inflicted significant human and material losses on the enemy. Unverifiable statements from independent sources.
But Malian soldiers have taken possession of a town deserted by its inhabitants and have, for the moment, not resumed their advance.
Strategic repositioning
As for the CSP rebels, they claim to have left Anefis to avoid fighting in the city and claim to have repositioned their defense lines strategically around the city. The CSP also accuses Malian soldiers and Wagner’s mercenaries of having committed, during their advance, numerous abuses against civilian populations.
Will the Malian army convoy, made up of around a hundred vehicles, be the first to get back on the road to achieve its objectives? Will the CSP rebels engage in new harassment maneuvers or a new attack on the Fama camp before then? The only certainty, for both parties, is that the current lull is destined to be broken.
While waiting for the resumption of clashes, aerial bombardments were reported this morning around thirty kilometers west of Kidal. The Malian army did not communicate but the CSP confirmed these strikes in the locality of Djounhan, which did not cause any casualties.
Read alsoMali: war of diverted images around the offensive towards Kidal
1696859360
#capture #Anefis #army #pause #fighting