Around 30 Malian soldiers were killed and 60 others wounded during a military operation to recapture the northern town of Anefis from armed groups, army chief General Jean Elysee Dao said.
The army announced on Friday that it had regained control of Anefis, located about 100 kilometres from the strategic city of Kidal, after nearly a week of fighting, according to Al Jazeera.
The battle followed a coordinated wave of attacks on July 4, when Tuareg separatists and fighters from an armed group linked to al-Qaeda seized Anefis along with other army positions across the country. General Dao said the losses included around 30 soldiers killed and about 60 wounded, some of them in serious condition.
“I regret the loss of around 30 people, 30 fallen martyrs,” Dao told state television, adding that the military had suffered further casualties among those injured.
The army chief’s comments came a day after the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said it had lost some of its most experienced fighters during the confrontation with Malian forces and their Russian paramilitary allies.
The FLA claimed, however, that it had inflicted “the heaviest material and human losses in their history in the region” on government forces and their allies. The competing claims could not be independently verified.
Military-ruled Mali has faced a prolonged security, political and humanitarian crisis for more than a decade, with armed groups continuing to operate across large areas of the country.
The al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has established control over large parts of rural territory, while the FLA is fighting for an independent state in northern Mali.
Although the two groups have different objectives and have frequently been rivals, fighters from both organisations, or their predecessors, have at times cooperated against shared opponents, including the Malian government and its allies.
The recapture of Anefis comes amid continuing instability in northern Mali, where control of territory has repeatedly shifted between state forces and armed groups.
The latest fighting is part of a wider security struggle involving Mali’s military authorities, separatist movements and jihadist organisations that have expanded their influence since the conflict began more than a decade ago.
In late April, the FLA and JNIM were blamed for another series of coordinated attacks across Mali. The assaults killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and led fighters to announce a siege of the capital, Bamako.
Mali has been governed by a military administration since successive coups, with authorities relying increasingly on military operations and partnerships with foreign forces to combat armed groups.
The government has strengthened ties with Russian paramilitary allies after ending a long-standing security partnership with France and other international forces. Russian fighters have supported Malian troops in operations against armed groups, including in contested areas in the north.
The fighting around Anefis highlights the continuing challenge faced by Mali’s authorities as they attempt to restore state control over regions where armed groups remain active.
