Mali army reports 30 soldiers killed in recapture of Anefis

Malian forces announced that around 30 soldiers were killed and about 60 wounded in a week‑long operation to retake the northern town of Anefis from al‑Qaeda‑linked JNIM and the Tuareg separatist Front of Liberation of Azawad (FLA). General Jean Elysée Dao told state TV, “I regret the loss of around 30 people, 30 fallen martyrs,” adding “We also have around 60 wounded, including serious cases.”

The army claimed the fighting, which followed coordinated attacks on July 4‑9, neutralised more than a thousand insurgents, destroyed 14 armored vehicles, 24 heavy‑armed vehicles, over thirty tactical vehicles and roughly 300 motorcycles. The offensive combined airstrikes and ground assaults, supported by Russian paramilitary forces of the Africa Corps. By mid‑July the town was back under full control of the Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa), which said the victory would curb the groups' ability to threaten the strategic corridor linking Gao and Kidal.

The operation is part of Mali’s ongoing security crisis, which has persisted since 2012, and follows earlier major attacks that killed defence minister Sadio Camara and saw the rebels lay siege to Bamako.