Jihadists, Tuareg Rebels Seize Mali's Northern Town Kidal
Last update: April 27, 2026
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Tuareg rebels reportedly take control of key Mali town after attacks...
Jihadists and Tuareg separatists have taken control of the key northern Malian town of Kidal after coordinated attacks on strategic junta positions across the country, an ally of the local governor and local sources said.
Two days of intense fighting between the army and jihadists allied with Tuareg rebels have deepened uncertainty over the future of Mali’s military government.
Several strategic towns and areas around the capital, Bamako, were targeted in a dawn offensive on Saturday.
“We have left Kidal. We are no longer there. It's the jihadists and the FLA (Azawad Liberation Front) who are in Kidal,” a source close to the governor said.
Residents also reported seeing Malian soldiers and their Russian mercenary allies withdrawing from the town.
The FLA, a separatist group seeking independence for northern Mali’s Azawad region, said over the weekend it had taken “total” control of Kidal, marking a major setback for the ruling junta.
Kidal, long a stronghold of pro-independence groups, had been under rebel control for years before being recaptured in November 2023 during a military offensive backed by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
Its recapture was widely seen in Mali as a symbolic victory for the junta.
