Mali's Tuareg forces announced a "controlled withdrawal" from the strategic town of Kidal after airstrikes by the Malian military backed by Russia's Africa Corps.

The Tuareg forces and al-Qaeda-linked JNIM had seized Kidal in April.

Malian forces previously retook it in late 2023 with Wagner support.

Kidal is the gateway to northern Mali — whoever holds it controls the route between Gao (the north's largest city, held by the government) and the vast Saharan interior where separatists and jihadists operate.