Rebels Ambush Junta Convoy in Mali

In Mali, Azawad rebels successfully launched an assault on a convoy of junta forces, capturing their equipment and weapons.

Mohamed Elmaulud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Azawad People’s Strategic Defense Program, confirmed that the entire convoy was neutralized and the battle had concluded.

Meanwhile, junta forces in Mali maintain that clashes are ongoing along the road between the town of Kidal and the village of Anefis.

“It’s not true; the fighting has ended. I inform you that the convoy in question has been completely neutralized,” the Azawad rebel representative claimed.

The Azawad rebels have several key political and national demands that have evolved over time, but mainly focus on one goal – the separation of northern Mali, which they call Azawad (the regions of Kidal, Timbuktu, Gao, and Menaka), or at least gaining broad autonomy with self-governance.

This demand was most loudly proclaimed in 2012 when the rebels declared the independent state of Azawad (which was not recognized by the international community).

The rebels accuse the government, and now the military junta that seized power in 2021, of systematic ethnic repression, discrimination, and economic neglect of the northern region.

In 2021, the leadership of Mali’s armed forces, led by Vice President Assimi Goïta, arrested President Bah N’Daw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, removing them from power.

The junta pledged to hold new elections in 2022. However, in July of the same year, Goïta’s administration announced that the transition to democracy would be postponed for another two years, and the state of emergency was extended in the country.

Russia sided with the junta, beginning to supply military equipment and support with its own mercenaries — notably, the Wagner group joined the fight against the rebels.

In 2024, the rebels defeated a group of Wagner militants and junta forces equipped with Chinese armored vehicles.

A representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine stated that the rebels received advance information and all the necessary resources to perform a military operation against the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner PMC in Mali.