Suspected jihadist fighters and Tuareg separatist rebels launched coordinated attacks across at least six locations in Mali before dawn on Saturday, targeting military positions, towns, and a prison south of the capital, Bamako, in one of the most sweeping offensives the country has seen in months.

The heaviest fighting took place in Anéfis, a strategically important town in Mali's far north, where fighters from the Front de Libération de l'Azawad (FLA) — the main Tuareg separatist coalition — seized control after roughly two hours of combat. Malian army soldiers were reportedly taken prisoner, while Russian military contractors supporting the Malian armed forces regrouped inside the town's military camp. Clashes were also reported in Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, as well as in Aguelhok, Sévaré in the centre of the country, and Kéniéroba, located not far south of Bamako. Near the capital, jihadist fighters affiliated with Al-Qaeda carried out a raid on a civilian prison — believed to hold opponents of the ruling military junta — before withdrawing. The Malian government said it had repelled the attacks and inflicted losses on the rebels; the rebel coalition, for its part, claimed it had achieved its objectives.

The attacks come just over two months after a major offensive in late April in which jihadist and Tuareg forces jointly struck several cities, including Bamako. During that assault, Mali's defence minister was killed in a bomb attack on his home, and the rebels managed to retake Kidal, a northern city long considered their stronghold, after Russian contractors withdrew from the area following negotiations.

Mali, a vast landlocked country in West Africa's Sahel region, has experienced persistent instability for over a decade. Tuareg rebels in the north seek an independent state they call Azawad, while jihadist groups pursue the imposition of Islamic rule across the country. A military junta that seized power in 2020 pledged to restore security, replacing European peacekeeping forces with Russian private military contractors, but violence has intensified rather than subsided. Notably, Saturday's strikes avoided Bamako itself and Kati — the junta's military heartland — a detail that analysts say may signal the rebel coalition is deliberately calibrating its pressure, leaving open the possibility of further escalation.