By Mohamed AG Ahmedou.
A man in military uniform, his face uncovered, reads in a firm voice, in a recent video posted on social media, a statement from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). In front of a Tuareg flag, the fighter celebrates the first anniversary of the victory of July 27, 2024, the date on which the Tuareg independence forces allegedly inflicted a heavy defeat on the Malian army and its Russian allies of the Wagner group in the Tinzawatene area, in northeastern Mali (northeastern Azawad).
This statement comes as the situation in the region remains extremely tense. Increasingly frequent Malian drone strikes have caused dozens of deaths among nomadic civilians in recent months, according to several local NGOs. Reports, although difficult to independently verify, point to attacks on Tuareg camps, wrongly identified as rebel bases.
” The Malian army and its foreign partners are targeting our people, our women, our children, our elders. They want to crush our resistance through terror ,” said the spokesperson for the armed FLA fighters in his speech, which appeared in the video.
A Shadow War
The alleged battle of July 27, 2024, remains one of the most opaque episodes of the conflict in northern Mali. According to concordant sources, it pitted elements of the CSP-DPA, which became the FLA, against a Malian military convoy escorted by mercenaries from the Wagner group in the desert region of Tinzawatene, not far from the Algerian border.
While the Bamako authorities remained silent on the clash, several images circulating at the time showed burnt-out military vehicles, abandoned bodies, and messages of protest from local armed movements. The FLA spoke of a ” resounding victory ,” which, according to it, symbolized the ability of the Azawad armed forces to repel the “military occupation” imposed by the central government.
Civilian targets, state silence
Beyond the celebration, the statement focuses on the repression that nomadic populations have reportedly suffered since the clashes. The Malian army, which recently benefited from increased surveillance capabilities thanks to drones supplied by Turkey and Russia, is accused of indiscriminate strikes on civilians, wrongly accused of collusion with armed groups.
Even more worrying, several testimonies collected by local associations report massacres of civilians, committed by Russian mercenaries from Wagners or Africa Corps, particularly in the areas of Anefis, Tabankort and Tin-Essako, Lougui, Essakane, Gargando, Janka, Ersane in almost all regions of northern Mali. ” They arrive at night, often accompanied by Malian soldiers. They kill without question. Entire families disappear ,” confided a resident of Anefis, contacted by telephone.
A Forgotten War
In the Malian desert, the balance of power is fragile. The collapse of the Algiers Accords, the marginalization of former signatory groups, and the strengthening of the Bamako-Moscow axis have transformed the region into a theater of asymmetrical warfare, where the lines between civilians, rebels, and terrorists are deliberately blurred.
In Eghaf Namane, the memory of July 27, 2024, known as the “Battle of Tinzawatene,” remains vivid. For the FLA, it represents revenge against a state they accuse of contempt and violence. For Bamako, this kind of discourse is described as ” separatist ” or ” terrorist .”
But for the civilian population, neither the flag of Bamako nor that of the FLA is enough to guarantee peace. And every drone in the sky reminds them that the war, even a year later, has not left Azawad .
27-07-25