Mali's leader says the military has seized control of the northern town of Kidal, marking the first time the army has held the Tuareg rebel stronghold in nearly a decade.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify the claim announced Tuesday on state broadcaster ORTM as mobile phone networks in Kidal were down.
“This is a message from the president of the transition to the Malian people,” journalist Ibrahim Traore said in his introduction to the news bulletin. “Today, our armed and security forces have seized Kidal. Our mission is not over."
For several days Mali's army, accompanied by mercenaries from the Wagner group, have been battling Tuareg fighters in a bid to take control of the town following the departure of United Nations peacekeepers two weeks ago.
The insubordination of the town and of the Kidal region, where the army suffered humiliating defeats between 2012 and 2014, has been a long-standing source of irritation for the government in the capital, Bamako.
Mali's military leaders have made the restoration of territorial sovereignty their mantra.
The military had drawn closer to Kidal over the weekend, clashing with separatist fighters and rebel groups in what may have signalled the start of fighting for the strategically important northern crossroads.
The rebels in Kidal on Friday cut telephone links in anticipation of an arm y offensive following several days of air strikes.
Some 25,000 people live in the Kidal desert area, a key site on the road to Algeria and a historic hotbed of insurrection.
