By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
ESCALATING ATTACKS across northern Mali have forced government troops and allied Russian mercenaries to surrender a strategic military base to armed rebel groups.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that Mali’s army and its Russian allies withdrew from the Tessalit super camp near the Algerian border on Friday, handing control to Tuareg separatists and jihadist fighters advancing against the ruling junta.
An official of the Azawad Liberation Front told AFP that forces stationed at the base surrendered the installation and scattered southward.
The development followed large scale coordinated assaults last weekend by the Tuareg dominated FLA and the Al Qaeda linked JNIM group targeting multiple junta positions.
During the attacks, rebels seized the northern town of Kidal and killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara.
The violence marked the largest assault in Mali in nearly 15 years, with fighting reported across several locations including around the capital Bamako. At least 23 people were killed.
A government tribute was held on Thursday for the 47-year-old minister, who died following a car bomb explosion at his residence in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said civilians and children were killed and injured during the attacks, adding that wounded children were receiving treatment in local health facilities.
The agency also reported that a health centre in Gao was attacked, while a school in the Mopti region was occupied by weapon bearers with an explosive device located nearby.
The Bamako Military Prosecutor’s Office alleged that active duty and former military personnel were involved in the planning, coordination and execution of the attacks.
A document from the public prosecutor’s office also linked exiled opposition politician Oumar Mariko to the incidents.
The withdrawal from Tessalit came a day after JNIM imposed a road blockade on Bamako, restricting movement and allowing only those already in the city to leave.
A security source in Gao told AFP that no clashes occurred at Tessalit, stating that regular troops had already evacuated before the attackers entered.
A local elected official confirmed that Russian forces also abandoned their positions.
Tessalit serves as a strategic base due to its location in the far north and includes an airstrip capable of accommodating helicopters and large military aircraft. It had housed significant numbers of Malian troops, Russian allies, and military equipment.
A military officer told AFP that Tessalit is the oldest base built by France and said its position offers a panoramic view of the Sahara.
Malian forces also withdrew from the Aguelhok base about 100 kilometres south of Tessalit, according to a local elected official and an FLA official.
Niger’s government said late Thursday that Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger had conducted intense air campaigns following the attacks.
The three countries, all led by juntas, have formed the Alliance of Sahel States and established a joint force of about 15,000 personnel.
Earlier this week, a Tuareg rebel spokesman said the group would conquer northern Mali and predicted the junta would fall.
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