Malian army launches counterattack after convoy ambush in Gao region

Mali's army says it has launched a counterattack after armed groups ambushed a military convoy in the country's north-east. The attack took place in the Gao region, near Tabankort, while the convoy was travelling from Anefis to Gao. A military source in Gao said the fighting was ongoing and described the incident as an ambush.

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The army said the convoy was attacked on Saturday morning, but it did not give details of casualties or equipment losses. In separate statements, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, and the Azawad Liberation Front both claimed responsibility. The two groups said they had caused heavy losses and significant material damage to the Malian army, although those claims have not been independently verified.

The Malian military also said its partners were targeted in the attack, a reference that appears to point to allied foreign personnel operating alongside government forces. Images released by the Azawad Liberation Front were said to show prisoners taken during the ambush, while the group also circulated footage it said showed soldiers surrendering. The authenticity of those images and videos has not been confirmed.

The incident comes amid a long-running security crisis in Mali that has affected the north for more than 14 years. JNIM is regarded as one of the deadliest armed groups in West Africa and has expanded its reach across rural areas. The Azawad Liberation Front seeks an independent state in northern Mali, making the attack part of a wider conflict involving both jihadist and separatist actors.

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The Gao region has remained strategically important because it links key towns in the north and has repeatedly been contested by armed groups and state forces. The convoy was moving from Anefis, a town the army said it retook on 10 July after fighting that left about 30 soldiers dead and about 60 injured. That town had been seized six days earlier by the same two groups now claiming the latest ambush.

The latest fighting also adds to a humanitarian crisis in Mali, where more than five million people are said to need assistance. It is not yet clear how many soldiers were killed, wounded or captured in the ambush, or whether the army has regained control of the area. Further official updates are likely to focus on the scale of losses, the status of any prisoners and whether the counterattack changes control on the ground.

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