Source: Pan- African News

Top rebel commander killed in drone strikes by Malian military

The Malian Armed Forces neutralized a high-ranking commander of the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA) and some of his fighters in the town of Tinzaouten at the border of Algeria at dawn on Sunday, December 1, 2024. As reported by RT, the Ministry of Information stated that “many CSP fighters have been killed, including Fahad Ag Almahmoud. Fahad Ag Almahmoud was the secretary general of the pro-government Tuareg Self-Defense Group Imghad and Allies (GATIA) until he joined the CSP in 2023 and became the separatist organization’s vice president. A Reuters journalist in Tinzaouten witnessed the drone strikes on the town, which is under the control of the CSP. Tuareg factions were meeting in Tinzaouten to form a military and political alliance. Separatist groups in northern Mali dominated by the Tuareg ethnic group rebelled against the Malian government in 2012 and later collaborated with Islamic State- and Al Qaeda-linked jihadists. A peace agreement between the Malian government and the Tuareg rebels signed in 2015 collapsed in July 2024. The Malian military junta received at least two Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 drones in December 2022 for its war on terror against jihadists and the Tuareg separatists in the north. In March 2023, Mali received a dozen more TB-2s and in January 2024 it received yet again a dozen TB-2s.

Sources: Mali says army killed senior rebel commander and others in drone strike

Reuters Drone Strike in Mali: A Blow to Tuareg Rebel Leadership

Devdiscourse Mali: Death of Tuareg rebel leader Fahad Ag Almahmoud announced

Dakar Actu A drone killed a senior commander of the Abzinawa rebels in Mali — Authorities

TRT Afrika Malian Army Eliminates Tuareg Rebel Leader in Drone Attack in Tin Zaouatine RT