Bamako (AFP) – Jihadists and their separatist Tuareg allies hit Mali with fresh coordinated attacks Saturday, striking multiple towns and a prison just months after hobbling the country's military junta with a similar wave of assaults.

The fighting, which started around 5:00 am (0500 GMT), comes after the Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadists and Tuareg FLA separatists in late April captured the strategic northern town of Kidal and killed Mali's defence minister.

On Saturday, they carried out their latest offensive in the northern towns of Gao, Anefis and Aguelhok, plus the central town of Sevare and at a prison in Kenieroba near the west African nation's capital.

Since coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali has been led by the military, which promised to restore calm in the vast desert nation that has been grappling with a security crisis since 2012.

The Mali military, backed by Africa Corps, the Moscow-controlled paramilitary group, has intensified operations following the large-scale April 25-26 attacks.

The Tuareg FLA (Azawad Liberation Front) teamed up with JNIM (the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) approximately a year ago, stepping up pressure on their joint nemesis, the country's military leaders.

"All these operations, which are intermediate steps pending a more spectacular assault, contribute to weakening and isolating the regime", Bakary Sambe, director of the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute, told AFP.

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