Mali’s Government Forces Capture Strategic City of Kidal

Earlier on Tuesday, Tuareg separatists said they had withdrawn from the city they captured earlier this year.

In April, the militant jihadist group JNIM and Tuareg separatists launched attacks against the ruling military junta.

Fighting has been ongoing on several fronts in Mali for some time. Over the summer, militant Islamists and Tuareg separatists joined forces against the military junta’s government forces. In July, the groups captured large parts of the Kidal region, which shares its name with the city, in a joint offensive.

The internal fighting began in January 2012, in connection with a Tuareg uprising in northern Mali. Since then, large parts of the country have been plunged into deep and brutal misery.