Militant patrols around Mali’s capital, a northern town, have been captured | Articles of Controversy

Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Tuareg separatists continue to attack Mali’s military government.

Terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda have said they have established a base to control the capital of Mali, Bamako, and capture the city of Tessalit in the north.

Reuters reported on Friday that Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has called on the people of Mali to rise up to “topple the rulers”, and follow Islamic law.

The latest developments come days after several attacks on JNIM by Tuareg separatists from the army Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) it led to the assassination of the country’s defense minister, Sadio Camara.

Footage shared on social media and local accounts on Friday showed armed fighters inside the Amachach square in Tessalit, with several military vehicles seen driving around.

Video verified by Reuters shows fighters marching through town and raising the FLA flag.

Media close to the Azawad militia, which is seeking independence in northern Mali, said the demonstrations showed fighters taking control of the area following the withdrawal of Russian troops and the African Corps, according to their statement.

Russia is the main foreign supporter of the military-run government in Mali.

JNIM said on Thursday it had seized the Hombori base in central Mali and controlled two checkpoints near Bamako, after earlier threatening to dismantle it. around the city.

Russian African Corps it said in a statement that JNIM’s claims about the abandonment of the Hombori foundation were “not true”.

He said his helicopters delivered weapons and other supplies to Malian soldiers in Hombori on Thursday, “after which Malian soldiers wounded in the fighting with the rebels were evacuated”.

He said that JNIM and AFL “continue to collect, review the base of the Russian military forces of the Russian army and the Malian Army, and the media work is being done quickly to reduce the morale of the Malian Army”.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from Dakar in Senegal, says that the lack of response by the Malian army to the progress of the rebels is surprising, and that four large camps in the north of the country are now in the hands of armed groups.

“It’s a big development,” Haque said. “It appears that the Malian army is not fighting in the north.”

Mali’s military leaders seized power in 2020 and 2021, with a short period of central authority. Officials have not commented on the latest reports at the time of writing.