The ruling junta announced Tuesday from Bamako that it had captured the town of Kidal in the north of the country. A strategic point under the control of the Tuareg rebellion for many years.
This is the most emblematic feat of arms of Colonel Assimi Goïta, the leader of the junta, since he came to power in May 2021. Kidal is the historic stronghold of the Tuareg rebellion movements. The Malian armed forces had made it their main objective since the end of October. Since the departure of the blue helmets of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), enormous land and air resources have been committed to carry out this move towards the north.
No figures but, according to several sources, Malian soldiers suffered fairly significant losses until they managed to seize Kidal airport. It was at this point that the Tuareg fighters withdrew. Officially, it is a “tactical” withdrawal to avoid urban fighting which would have involved civilian victims.
Yesterday, members of the National Transitional Council, who came to celebrate this victory on Independence Square in Bamako, gave a triumphalist speech, implying that the Malian Armed Forces (the FAMA) are much more effective than the soldiers of Barkhane and those of Minusma. “We were told that Mali cannot be in Kidal when Mali returned to Kidal, without France, without international opinion, we returned with our own means. Thank God. I am really motivated to a great joy”rejoices a Malian.
Without France, but with the support of Wagner’s Russian mercenaries
A capture of Kidal, without France of course, but not without the support of an international force. It’s difficult to ignore Wagner’s fighters in the numerous images shot yesterday, during the entry into the city. A fairly sober staging of a military victory. The show is rather on social networks where immediately this influencer, accused by Washington of being linked to the Wagner group, delivers her analysis of the victory. “History will record that what the French army, the European force Takuba and the UN force Minusma failed to do in ten years, Mali did in two”, insists this influencer. And this is how the story of joint operations between Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries is immediately oriented on the networks. When the UN and France are no longer there, everything is better for Mali…
Except that Minusma was a stabilizing force and was not intended to take sides. France has never denied its links with the Tuareg movements. But above all Barkhane’s mission consisted of repelling the offensive of armed jihadist groups. Jihadists who have been supporting the Tuareg rebellion for several weeks. This is a completely new and unprecedented security situation that presents itself today. And the “tactical” withdrawal mentioned by the Tuaregs is undoubtedly a harbinger of a coordinated response with jihadist groups. Colonel Goïta knows this better than anyone. This is also what led him to announce the capture of Kidal without triumphalism, suggesting that the war was far from won.