Amarana Malga
May 17, 2026•Last updated: May 17, 2026
More than a dozen air strikes attributed to the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) were recorded Sunday morning in the Kidal region in northern Mali, according to several consistent sources contacted by Anadolu.
According to these local and security sources, the Malian army has been conducting a major offensive air operation since the early hours of the morning in and around Kidal, a strategic city in the north of the country where government forces have been battling rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and their terrorist allies from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
At this stage, the Malian military headquarters has not issued any official statement regarding these new strikes.
On social media, members and sympathizers of the FLA have accused the Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps of using “atomic bombs” in air strikes carried out in Aguelhoc. However, no independent source has been able to confirm these accusations.
In the night from May 13 to May 14, the Malian army had already carried out at least four air strikes on Kidal.
The Azawad Liberation Front had declared on the evening of April 25, 2026 that they had taken “total control” of the city of Kidal following an operation carried out with the support of JNIM.
The Malian transitional authorities, on their part, claimed to have repelled coordinated attacks on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in several cities including Bamako, Kati, Sévaré, Gao, and Kidal.
The government reported 16 casualties among civilians and military personnel, stating that the security forces had “neutralized several attackers” and regained control of the targeted areas.
In a recent message, Africa Corps indicated that its instructors were continuing to train FAMa, particularly for heliborne search and attack operations, praising the “increase in professional skills” of Malian soldiers and their “willingness to resist terrorists.”
