Mali's Tuareg forces announced a "controlled withdrawal" from the strategic town of Kidal after airstrikes by the Malian army backed by Russia's Africa Corps.

Mali's Tuareg forces announced a "controlled withdrawal" from the strategic town of Kidal after airstrikes by the Malian army backed by Russia's Africa Corps.

Al-Qaeda-linked Tuareg and JNIM forces captured Kidal in April.

Malian forces previously occupied it at the end of 2023 with the support of Wagner.

Kidal is the gateway to northern Mali - whoever holds it controls the route between Gao (the largest city in the north, held by the government) and the interior of the vast Sahara where separatists and jihadists operate.