At least 50 Malian soldiers killed in rebel-jihadist attack

What the report says

France 24, citing AFP and local sources, reported that at least 50 Malian soldiers were killed and dozens of others captured in an attack on an army convoy in northern Mali. The convoy was leaving Anefis, a strategically important town, when it was ambushed on Saturday after weeks of fighting for control of the area. The report was issued Sunday, July 19, 2026.

According to the France 24 account, officials said Tuareg separatists and jihadist fighters were involved. The Azawad Liberation Front, known as the FLA, and the al Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, or JNIM, both claimed responsibility. A local elected official close to Mali’s ruling junta told AFP the provisional toll exceeded 50 soldiers killed, with at least 24 taken prisoner, and described it as the army’s worst loss in years.

France 24 reported that Anefis had been briefly seized in early July by FLA and JNIM fighters, who also surrounded a military base used by Malian forces and Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps. Sources cited in the report said the Russian fighters had already reached Gao, the convoy’s intended destination, and were not among the casualties. A Malian army source said an inquiry was under way into how the soldiers became so exposed.

The attack underscores the continuing security crisis facing Mali’s military government, which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta has pledged to restore stability, but northern and central Mali remain affected by overlapping jihadist insurgencies, separatist movements and militia violence.