Mali's Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) rebel group has said its fighters used a drone to take out an army helicopter in the Kidal region, though the military did not confirm the claim.
Army general staff said the military had intercepted a "terrorist" drone after the FLA said the mainly Tuareg group's fighters had "brought down a Malian army helicopter in Tessalit" in the country's northeast late on Tuesday.
AFP could not independently confirm the claim by FLA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the Malian army general staff said it informed "the public that on Tuesday, February 11... a terrorist drone was intercepted and recovered in the airport area of Tessalit in the Kidal region."
'Trying to observe' the armed forces
The military added the drone had been "trying to observe a FAMA (Malian Armed Forces) helicopter in transit on the helipad. The helicopter was refuelled, took off and returned to its base."
The FLA spokesperson told AFP the army's statement was false, adding: "We did shoot down the army helicopter with our drones."
Defeated in Kidal by the army in November 2023, the rebels retreated further north towards the Algerian border, from where they carried out an attack last July which killed dozens of Malian soldiers and fighters from Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
A Ukrainian military intelligence official, Andriy Yusov, implied thereafter that Kiev had provided the rebels with information to aid their attack. Ukraine later denied that it provided intelligence, as well as reports that it had supplied rebels with drones.
End of French ties
The separatist FLA, which claimed responsibility for the July attack, was created late last year in a merger of several predominantly Tuareg groups seeking territory in northern Mali.
Since coming to power, Mali's military has ended the country's long-standing alliance with France and European partners, instead turning militarily and politically towards Russia.
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