According to military sources, the operations are targeting specific targets, and they warn that the attacks will intensify in the coming days.

Kidal has recently been the scene of violent clashes between Malian forces and Tuareg rebels, temporary allies of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), with large-scale coordinated attacks taking place throughout the country since the end of April.

This strategic city was a stronghold of the Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front coalition for over a decade before being recaptured by the Malian army in late 2023.

Governed by a military junta following successive coups in August 2020 and May 2021, Mali, a Sahel country, has suffered for several years from instability caused by the activity of radical Islamist insurgencies and Tuareg separatists, both vying for power.

jdt/arm/ro/fvt