World
'Nearly 40,000' displaced following Mali fighting surge
"Thousands of people have arrived in towns like Gao and Menaka (in the north) following the events of April 25 and the recent clashes in the Anefis area", the head of a humanitarian NGO, requesting anonymity for security reasons, told AFP.
A soldier from the National Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) walks inside a damaged building in Kidal, Mali on May 9, 2026. Attacks in Mali have intensified following a major April offensive by a coalition of jihadists and separatists. (AFP)
By: AFP ., Journalist @New Vision
________________
DAKAR - Nearly 40,000 people have fled their homes in northern and central Mali due to a surge in clashes and bombardments, AFP learned Tuesday from humanitarian, local and security sources.
Attacks in Mali have intensified following a major April offensive by a coalition of jihadists and separatists, which took the northern city of Kidal and killed the country's defence minister.
Among other fighting, the Tuareg separatist FLA and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) briefly captured the town of Anefis in fierce fighting in early July.
"Thousands of people have arrived in towns like Gao and Menaka (in the north) following the events of April 25 and the recent clashes in the Anefis area", the head of a humanitarian NGO, requesting anonymity for security reasons, told AFP.
A social development official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that "nearly 40,000 people" have been displaced, with "around 15,000 finding refuge in the Gao and Menaka regions alone".
In Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, a local official reported there being "more than 7,000 newly displaced people over the past three months".
A social development official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that "nearly 40,000 people" have been displaced, with "around 15,000 finding refuge in the Gao and Menaka regions alone".
In Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, a local official reported there being "more than 7,000 newly displaced people over the past three months".
According to the sources interviewed by AFP, the influx over such a short period occurred on a scale unprecedented in recent years.
Moreover, for the past two weeks, the army has intensified its aerial bombardments in areas such as Tinzawatene in the Kidal region, "often destroying health centres and causing further population displacement", a security source told AFP on Tuesday.
Most of the displaced people arriving in Gao and Menaka have come from the Kidal region, following the deterioration of the situation there.
Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012 and has more than 400,000 displaced people, although many consider this figure an underestimate.
Since two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the country has been ruled by the military, which came to power on the promise of restoring security, so far without success.
Moreover, for the past two weeks, the army has intensified its aerial bombardments in areas such as Tinzawatene in the Kidal region, "often destroying health centres and causing further population displacement", a security source told AFP on Tuesday.
Most of the displaced people arriving in Gao and Menaka have come from the Kidal region, following the deterioration of the situation there.
Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012 and has more than 400,000 displaced people, although many consider this figure an underestimate.
Since two successive coups in 2020 and 2021, the country has been ruled by the military, which came to power on the promise of restoring security, so far without success.