The Malian army and its Russian allies entered the strategic northern city of Kidal on Tuesday without resistance after Tuareg separatists announced a tactical withdrawal, five months after government forces were driven out.

Around 120 vehicles carrying Malian soldiers, Russian Africa Corps troops and fighters from Tuareg armed groups integrated into the Malian army left the town of Anéfis on Tuesday morning, according to RFI's sources. By early afternoon, the convoy had entered Kidal.

“We encountered no resistance,” a Malian officer told French news agency AFP, adding that troops had reached the city shortly before 1pm local time. Another officer said the army had arrived “ahead of schedule”.

The advance followed several days of military preparations around Kidal, with government forces reinforcing positions at Anéfis and Aguelhoc and stepping up air strikes around the city.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Mali’s armed forces said they had launched “large-scale air and ground operations in the Kidal region” alongside their “Russian partners”.

The army said the aim was to “neutralise armed terrorist groups”, “destroy their safe havens” and restore security and freedom of movement for the population. Mali army and Russian fighters accused of killing dozens of civilians A ‘strategic withdrawal’ Hours before the army entered the city, the separatist Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, announced that it had withdrawn its forces.

The group described the move as a “strategic and controlled withdrawal” designed to “preserve human lives” amid what it said was the growing danger posed by air strikes.

It insisted that the move was temporary and was also intended to keep its “human and logistical capabilities intact”.

The FLA blamed what it called the “disproportionate use of aerial assets” by Russian Africa Corps forces and the Malian military. Its departure effectively cleared the way for government troops to retake Kidal without a battle.

The city had fallen in late April during a coordinated offensive by Tuareg separatists and jihadists from the Al Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, or JNIM.

That campaign dealt a major blow to Mali’s military authorities and included a series of attacks aimed at weakening the ruling junta. The defence minister was killed during the violence.

The loss of Kidal was particularly symbolic for Bamako, which had retaken the city from separatists in 2023 after years in which it had remained largely beyond central government control.

Tuesday’s return therefore represents an important political and military gain for Mali’s transitional authorities, even though the city itself is now largely deserted.

Russia vows to keep forces in Mali despite warning from separatists to withdraw City emptied Kidal has been largely emptied by successive rounds of fighting. Most residents fled in 2023 as Malian troops and fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group advanced, while many government supporters left after the army was driven out again in April.

A man who left the city with six relatives on Monday told AFP there had not been “even a hundred civilians left” for some time.

Air strikes intensified from Sunday, with attacks reported in and around Kidal and drone strikes near Tinzaouatène, close to the Algerian border.

The army said it had carried out “precision strikes” and “neutralised numerous terrorists”, while the FLA accused it of “indiscriminate strikes” on civilian sites. Casualty figures have not been independently verified.

Mali has been mired in conflict since 2012, involving jihadist groups, Tuareg separatists and government forces. Since seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, the military authorities have broken ties with France and turned increasingly to Russia.

Fighting has intensified since April. At least 100 Malian soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack on the Dioura military camp in September, while at least 50 died in July when separatist and jihadist fighters ambushed a convoy near Anéfis.