Mali's armed forces have recaptured the northern town of Anefis following nearly a week of intense fighting against a coalition of jihadist and separatist rebel groups, marking a significant but hard-won success for the country's military junta.

Anefis, a strategic settlement located approximately 100 kilometres from Kidal in Mali's vast and restive north, came under coordinated attack last Saturday when al-Qaeda-linked militants and Tuareg separatist fighters seized the town. Tuareg communities are a historically nomadic Berber people of the Sahara who have long sought greater autonomy or independence across Mali's northern regions. While the rebels managed to take Anefis itself, they failed to overrun a nearby military camp, where Malian soldiers — backed by fighters from the Russian Africa Corps, a mercenary organisation operating across the Sahel — held their ground.

Reinforcements were dispatched from Gao, a major city roughly 300 kilometres to the southwest, with dozens of vehicles supported by air cover making the dangerous overland journey toward Anefis. Despite sustained rebel attacks along the route, the convoy arrived on Thursday evening and succeeded in retaking the town.