Airstrikes Kill 6, Including Children, in Mali

On Tuesday, at least six people, including children, were killed in airstrikes on the strategic city of Kidal in Mali.

Witnesses and residents accused the Malian army of carrying out these strikes.

A health worker, who requested anonymity, reported, "Several strikes occurred this morning, resulting in six casualties, including three children."

Other accounts suggested a higher death toll. Reports mentioned either airstrikes or the use of drones, with no further details provided, although the Malian army is known to possess drones, according to France Presse.

The spokesperson for the Coordination of Azawad Movements, Almou Ag Mohamed, an alliance of separatist groups dominated by the Tuareg, claimed that 12 people were killed, including four children, in three separate attacks.

At least one strike targeted a camp previously occupied by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

Rebel groups control Kidal, and these groups, which had signed a peace agreement with the government in 2015, have recently resumed fighting.

The Malian army suffered significant defeats in the region between 2012 and 2014.

Last week, the United Nations mission in Mali withdrew from its camp in Kidal, allowing Tuareg-dominated separatist groups to take control and gain the upper hand over the Malian army in a territorial race in the northern part of the country.

The withdrawal of the United Nations mission from Kidal highlights the deteriorating situation. It left under the shadow of an escalating conflict, as the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) withdrew from the country at the request of the military council after ten years of deployment.

MINUSMA hastened its withdrawal due to the deteriorating security situation, sparked by clashes between all armed actors in Mali (separatists, jihadists, and the regular army). However, this move has drawn the ire of the ruling military council.

MINUSMA vacated its camp in Kidal before the arrival of the Malian army to take it over. This is the third and final camp that MINUSMA has evacuated in the Kidal region, following Tassalit and Aguelhok.