News Screen – Tuareg separatist groups allied with jihadist militants reportedly took control of the strategic town of Kidal in northern Mali after coordinated attacks on government military positions.
This information was conveyed by a number of local sources on Monday, April 28 2026, following two days of fierce fighting between government forces and armed groups.
Kidal is an important region in the northern region which has long been the base of the separatist movement. The city was previously recaptured by the military in 2023, but has now fallen into rebel hands again.
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The groups involved in this attack are said to include the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) as well as a network affiliated with Al-Qaeda, namely JNIM.
A source close to local authorities said government troops had abandoned Kidal. Residents also reported seeing the retreat of Malian troops and foreign supporters from the city.
The situation adds pressure to the military government led by Assimi Goita, which has not appeared in public since the outbreak of the latest conflict.
On the other hand, Defense Minister Sadio Camara was reportedly killed in a car bomb attack in the Kati area, near the capital Bamako.
The government declared two days of national mourning over the incident, which also killed family members of the victims.
Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga said the security situation was being handled and asked the public to remain calm. He emphasized that the government would increase security and take lessons from this incident.
However, this latest attack is seen as the biggest challenge to Mali’s stability since the 2012 crisis, when the northern region was controlled by separatist and militant groups.
Until now, there is no latest official data regarding the number of victims. The military says it has killed more than 200 people it calls “terrorists”, but this claim has not been independently verified.
A number of analysts assess that this situation has the potential to worsen the security crisis in the Sahel region, as well as test the military government’s ability to maintain national stability.***
