BAMAKO: Militants killed ten local militiamen allied with the Mali government in an attack Monday in the north, where the regime faces armed militant groups and Touareg separatists, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred in the town of Kadji, situated on the outskirts of Gao, as confirmed by a police source contacted by AFP.
According to Inoussa Maiga, a member of CMFPR (Conseil des Mouvements et Fronts Patriotiques de Résistance), an alliance of armed groups supporting government forces, the militants launched the attack on their positions near Gao, resulting in the loss of ten combatants.
The CMFPR, primarily composed of local sedentary groups such as the Songhai, has long been engaged in conflicts with nomadic clans in the arid region. The root causes of these tensions include competition for scarce pastures exacerbated by agricultural expansion and recurrent droughts, which have fueled the emergence of criminal and militant elements, perpetuating a cycle of violence in the region.
The incident underscores the persistent security challenges faced by the Malian government, which is grappling with armed militant groups and Tuareg separatists in the north. In response, the military junta that seized power in a coup in 2020 has vowed to assert control over the entire country, leading to a shift in military alliances from France to Russia.
The decision to partner with Russia has been accompanied by calls for the withdrawal of the UN’s MINUSMA mission and a crackdown on separatist strongholds, exemplified by the government’s recapture of the northern town of Kidal, historically a Tuareg separatist bastion, in November last year.
However, despite ongoing military operations by government troops in the central and northern regions, concerns persist over civilian casualties, with human rights groups documenting numerous instances of civilian deaths.
