Bamako – Malian soldiers retreated from the northern town of Kidal on Wednesday after heavy gun battles with ethnic Tuareg separatists, a major setback for the army less than a year after its highly unpopular return to the rebel stronghold.
Fighting reignited early on Wednesday in the town, according to residents who stayed inside their homes as the gun battles intensified near the governor’s office. A weekend of violence was followed by a couple days without intense fighting.
Captain Remi, a spokesperson with the French forces who did not give his last name in accordance with French military policy, said the Malian army was seen leaving the town later in the day.
Over the weekend the rebels had stormed government buildings, killing at least eight civilians and taking more than 30 hostages who were later released.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday he was “deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Kidal,”according to statement from his spokesperson.
After being chased from Kidal in early 2012, Mali’s military was allowed to return last July, just before the country’s long-awaited presidential election.
The Tuaregs, a traditionally nomadic people spread across the Sahara Desert, have risen up against the central government in Mali several times since the country’s independence from France in 1960. Their quest for autonomy has had fallout far beyond the land they call the Azawad…
South Africa Today – Africa News – Mali
