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Bale, Bouren, Anefis, Aguelhok, Tinzaouatene. In recent months, areas of conflict have increased between the Malian army, which is firmly committed to securing the national territory, and armed rebel groups united under the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defence of the People of Azawad (CSP-PDA).IYes. The recent rare violence in Tinzaouatne, near the Algerian border, marks a turning point since the conflict between the two camps resumed in August 2023. The Tuareg rebels, who were driven out of Kidal last November, have resisted and taken control of the situation thanks to support from many parties.
From July 25 to 27, a bloody confrontation took place between the Malian army and the CSP-PDA armed rebel group in Tinzawatène, 233 km northeast of Kidal.
The Malian army, with the support of its Russian partners, launched an operation in mid-July on the Algerian border in the process of recapturing the last few areas near the Algerian border that were a haven for CSP-PDA rebels and other declining armed terrorist groups in the region.
“defeat
On July 25, the Malian army and its partners entered Tinzaouatene, and three days later they took control of the town of Inafalak, about 122 kilometers from Tessalit, and took positions in Bouhssa, in the Abeibara circle in the Kidal region. But the FAMa column encountered CSP militants who had a strong position in the border town with Algeria and launched a battle.
After the Malian armed forces repelled the first attack, weather conditions deteriorated and sandstorms restricted the movement of ground forces and prevented the intervention of Malian army air power. Outnumbered and with limited ground, FAMa was soon surrounded by CSP rebels on July 26, who reorganized and already Reinforced by armed terrorist groupsEgypt The area.
“The bravery and determination of our soldiers was exemplary, but it did not prevent the high number of casualties.s and materials”, the Armed Forces General Staff acknowledged in a press release Publish July 29. “On July 26, the battle aboutThe intensity doubled. Armed terrorist groups formed an opportunistic alliance, including EIGS and GSIM, and launched several suicide vehicles at our forces. The FAMa forces were surrounded by a coalition of terrorist forces from the Sahel region and violent fighting took place before reinforcements arrived, “the army explained.
Fighting continued on 27 July, with FAMa suffering further losses in an ambush by JNIM, and retreating to Kidal on 28 July. If the Army General Staff did not detail the losses in its communications, the CSP-PDA did so in its cumbrellaté, reported in a press release on the 1yes arriveandBy 2024, the Malian army and its Russian partners would have inflicted 9 deaths, 12 injuries, 3 destroyed vehicles and suffered heavy casualties.Destruction of equipment and vehicles was also claimed.
On July 31, Prime Minister Jorgel Kokara Mecca publicly stated that the Malian army had lost the battle of Tinzahuatne but would win the war.
New Dimensions
“We want to emphasize that this situation cannot call into question the dynamics of the exercise of power by the State throughout the national territory, as reflected in the takeover of Inafaraq,” the warning said.Ton The Armed Forces General Staff, in a press release on July 29, recommended launching a new FAMa offensive in Tinzavatne.
At the traditional press conference held on August 5andThis was reiterated by the head of the Armed Forces Information and Public Relations Directorate (DIRPA) in 2024. “As soon as we are able to set foot in Kidal, we will reach Tinzawattne. But we will not tell you when. Remember, no matter what happens, the FAMa will set foot in Tinzawattne at the cost of our blood,” Major Souleymane Dembélé insisted to the media.
For their part, the CSP-PDA rebels hailed their fighters for a “brilliant and glorious victory” and they knew the Malian army would not give up. They would be prepared for all eventualities.
Some analysts believe that they may be spurred on by the advantages gained in recent fighting, as well as the reinforcement of armed terrorist groups in the region and foreign support, especially from Ukraine – Which Mali just split sDiplomatic relations – Tuareg separatists are likely to continue to resist federal forces and their Russian partners in future struggles for control of the town of Tinzahuatne.
“Today’s Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been exported to northern Mali because WuUkrainians see the Russian presence in Mali as a new target to be defeated and there is reason to worry about the scale of this battle,” warned Dr Amidou Tidjani. EgyptTeacher and researcher at the University of Paris XIII.
“We are now in a conflict between states that is being fueled by indirect actors.I It is an armed terrorist organization. C“The armed groups in Tinzaouat are not a cause for concern, but in my opinion they benefit from the means by which conventional troops can attack the Malian army,” he continued.Il, if this support continues, it would warn that more sensitive areas would be attacked.
For Jean-Hervé Jezequel, phosphorusThe International Crisis Group’s Sahel Project seemed more cautious. “It is not surprising that both sides are trying to find external allies, but the fog of war remains thick from past events and we must be wary of any hasty conclusions,” he said jocularly.
Return to conversation?
In light of other clashes in the Tinzaouatene region, the fate of civilians, whom the Malian army has also invited to leave the fighting area, is more worrying than ever.
“We are obviously afraid of an upward spiral. In these conflict situations, civilians are increasingly subject to operations that make it difficult to distinguish who is a combatant and who is not, who supports one side and who supports the other,” warned Jean-Hervé Jezeker.
The International Crisis Group, in a report published in February 2024, already highlighted the risk of worsening violence against civilians in the coming months, but did not offer any lasting response to the current situation.
For the director of the International Crisis Group’s Sahel program, maintaining control over northern Mali through military action alone would be difficult, if not impossible, even with powerful allies.
“It is always possible to recapture and hold towns in the face of armed rebellion when we invest the means, as we have recently seen with the recapture of Kidal since November 2023. On the other hand, controlling rural areas and eliminating all forms of armed opposition in such vast spaces, logistics is a huge challenge for all the armies in the world and is an unrealistic goal,” said Mr. Yezeker. In his opinion, only political dialogue can save lives in Mali.
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