The Azawad Liberation Front has announced a temporary withdrawal from Kidal, saying sustained air strikes by Malian troops and their Russian allies forced the Tuareg-led coalition to make a tactical retreat.

The announcement came six months after the FLA captured the strategic town in northern Mali. The group described the move as a “controlled withdrawal” and said it was intended to preserve its personnel and logistical capabilities.

In a statement, the FLA said the operation was temporary and had been carried out methodically. It also said there had been no direct combat between its forces and the opposing side at the time of the withdrawal.

A security source reported that pro-government fighters, including Russian paramilitaries, re-entered Kidal on Tuesday afternoon. The available information does not establish the extent of territorial control following their reported return.

Military operations around Kidal

Mali’s military said it had launched large-scale air and ground operations in the area surrounding Kidal. According to the military, the objectives included “tracking down and neutralizing” armed groups, destroying their supply networks and restoring “lasting security” as well as the free movement of people and goods.

The FLA, however, attributed its withdrawal to the sustained air strikes carried out by Malian forces and Russian allies. That explanation remains the group’s account of the military pressure behind the retreat.

The FLA was formed in 2024 as a coalition bringing together Tuareg and other northern separatist factions. It presents itself as a secular nationalist movement seeking independence for Azawad, the name separatists use for northern Mali.

Wider conflict

The development comes amid a long-running conflict in Mali that began in 2012, when a Tuareg separatist rebellion was overtaken by al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, is described as an al-Qaeda-affiliated group seeking to “liberate” Mali and overthrow the government. The FLA and JNIM have set aside their ideological differences to confront the Malian authorities, according to the supplied account of the conflict.

The two groups launched a joint offensive in April, though the year of that operation was not specified. The cooperation has contributed to an escalation in fighting between armed groups and the Malian state.

Mali has been ruled by its military since a 2021 coup. The military leadership has pledged to restore order and unity, while the government says it is seeking to re-establish state authority and dismantle what it calls a “terrorist alliance” between the FLA and JNIM.

JNIM gained strength after Malian soldiers expelled French forces and approximately 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers and turned to Russian paramilitaries for defence support.

The available information does not include casualty figures, the number of fighters involved, the identities of the Russian units or the precise duration and scale of the operations around Kidal.