AT LEAST 50 MALIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN ANEFIS CONVOY ATTACK

At least 50 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack on an army convoy near Anefis in northern Mali on Saturday, according to local sources. The convoy, which included Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps, was ambushed as it left the town. Tuareg separatists from the FLA and jihadists from JNIM, an al Qaeda-affiliated group, claimed responsibility for the attack. An unnamed local official told sources the death toll was "extremely heavy" and represented the deadliest attack on the Malian army in years.

The attack followed weeks of fighting between the military and the combined separatist and jihadist forces over control of Anefis. In early July, FLA and JNIM fighters had briefly captured the town and encircled a military base used by both the Malian army and Russian paramilitaries. According to sources, at least 24 soldiers were taken prisoner during Saturday's attack. A source within the Malian army stated that some soldiers "were simply executed" and that an investigation was underway to examine tactical failures. The Russian paramilitaries had already reached their destination in Gao and sustained no losses, according to local sources.

The Malian armed forces acknowledged on Saturday that the convoy had "fallen into an ambush laid by terrorist armed groups" but did not provide casualty figures in their statement. Mali has been governed by a military junta since two coups in 2020 and 2021. The government has faced sustained pressure to improve security following years of conflict involving both jihadist and separatist insurgencies across the country.