Tuareg rebels in northern Mali have claimed to have seized control of a military camp and posts in the town of Bourem after weeks of fighting against the national army and Wagner mercenaries, threatening to unravel a 2015 peace deal.
Tuesday’s capture of Bourem, situated between the ancient cities of Gao and Timbuktu, by the Tuareg rebel alliance called the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) comes as the military consolidated power in two coups in 2020 and 2021 and kicked out French forces and United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA.
“I confirm the CMA took control of the camp around 10am after very violent fighting,” said CMA spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane. He said there had been casualties but that he did not yet know the death toll.
Mali’s army spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Unidentified armed groups had encircled the camp and roamed through the town,” local resident, Mahamoud Ould Mety, told the Reuters news agency by telephone.
“But the aircraft reacted against them. We can hear more firing, the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces) are everywhere in the town in numbers,” he added.
The region – the cradle of the armed rebellion that has swept into the Sahel region – has seen a resurgence of tension in recent weeks, triggered in part by the pullout of UN peacekeeping troops which helped in maintaining a fragile peace.
—Aljazeera
