Mali’s General Staff of the armed forces has announced the deaths of several rebel leaders, whom it labeled as terrorists, during a “special operation,” the military said in a statement aired on the country’s national channel ORTM.
Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Moroccan think tank “Policy Center for the New South,” said that ”this represents a significant blow to northern Malian groups, as some of the casualties include prominent leaders within their communities.”
“However, the development will likely fuel anti-government sentiment in the region, and it doesn’t signify an end to the conflict,” Lyammouri added.
He also noted that “the junta has made it clear through these airstrikes that it is ready to deploy its newly acquired air assets, including drones, whenever necessary.”
The military operation occurred a day after northern armed factions announced their unification into a single political-military entity, named the Azawad Liberation Front.
Spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadan said that the group’s mission is “the complete liberation of Azawad and the establishment of the Azawad Authority,” as outlined in a press release dated November 30.