Dozens of Malian soldiers killed, captured in northern ambush

A Malian army convoy leaving the strategic northern town of Anefis came under ambush on Saturday morning, with military and security officials reporting heavy losses among government troops.

Tuareg-led separatists, along with the JNIM terrorists, briefly seized Anefis on 4 July, part of a wider series of coordinated attacks across the West African country.

"Our convoy that was leaving Anefis for Gao was attacked this morning near Tabankort. The fighting is ongoing. It is an ambush," a military source in Gao told AFP. A source within the FLA confirmed the attack.

"The army suffered heavy losses, even though the rest of the convoy was able to continue," a security official said on condition of anonymity, while a local official described the casualties as extensive.

Images circulated by the FLA showed what it said were dozens of captured Malian soldiers.

The clashes in Anefis have already left around 30 Malian soldiers dead and roughly 60 wounded, according to an official toll released on 12 July by the army's general staff.

Two days earlier, Malian forces and Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps had retaken control of the town after days of fighting.