Tuareg rebellion (2012): 2012 coup Internal conflict in Azawad: Foreign intervention: 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 The Kidal offensive was an offensive by the Malian government and Wagner Group mercenaries against the rebel coalition Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) with the aim of capturing the rebel-held region of Kidal.

Malian and allied troops captured the town of Tessalit and its MINUSMA base in late October after clashes with the CSP-PSD for control of the city and the evacuation of Chadian peacekeepers.

Following the capture of the region, CSP-PSD fighters began blockades of major northern Malian cities, and exerted control of rural Kidal beginning in December.

In 2015, Malian officials signed the Algiers Accords with the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) and Platform to seek an end to the Mali War and jointly crack down on growing jihadist groups.

[2] In April 2021, the CMA and Platform came together to form the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD), a political and military front to combat jihadist groups such as Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State – Sahil Province (ISGS).

[3] Around late 2022, the Malian junta enlisted the help of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group in combatting jihadists, and also ordered the evacuation of French troops of Operation Barkhane.

[10] In response, the CSP-PSD accused the Malian junta and Wagner Group of "multiple breaches" of the Algiers Agreement ceasefire, and announced "all measures of self-defense would be taken in Azawad".

Jeune Afrique reported that a Malian soldier had showed up late to the convoy's departure, and was shot by a Wagner mercenary in response.

The CSP-PSD stated they stopped the convoy's advance, and that the Russo-Malian forces suffered heavy losses of manpower and equipment, including the taking of several POWs.

The Malian army claimed that the rebels suffered heavy losses, although the CSP-PSD stated eight fighters were injured and none were killed.

[22][21] Fighting continued in and around Anefis on October 6, with the Malian army claiming to have advanced further toward Kidal, a statement denied by the CSP-PSD.

[27] On the night between October 11 and 12, two planes dropped several dozen Malian and Wagner forces over the MINUSMA camp at Tessalit, in the heart of CSP-PSD controlled territory.

[31] Two days later, the Malian and Wagner forces landed two cargo planes at the Tessalit Airport, sparking brief clashes with the rebels with no casualties.

[33] A significant part of the Chadian contingent was repatriated on October 17, despite Malian officials urging Chad and MINUSMA to stick to the evacuation deadline.

The agreement also ended the blockage of MINUSMA reinforcements in Gao and Tombouctou regions, and allowed all peacekeepers in Tessalit to return to Chad.

[40] Malian officials tried to slow down the departure process by only authorizing small quantities of MINUSMA flights, although the peacekeepers in Kidal had already evacuated by October 31.

[46] Malian forces launched airstrikes on Kidal from Bayraktar TB2s beginning on the night of November 3–4, targeting the CSP-held MINUSMA camp.

In response, CSP-PSD fighters cut off cell signal to the city to prevent saboteurs from releasing information about the strategic locations to Malian forces.

The next day, Malian forces bypassed CSP-PSD positions in the valley by going south, and stated that they foiled a "series of ambushes" and "high-intensity skirmishes.

[55] Malian president and junta leader Assimi Goïta stated that operations to capture all of Kidal Region would continue.

[56] El Hadj Ag Gamou, a Malian colonel and founder of GATIA was installed as the new governor of Kidal following the CSP's withdrawal.

[59] On the night between December 21 and 22, a Malian drone strike killed longtime jihadist Hassan Ag Fagaga and four other rebels in Tinzaouaten.

[63][58] The Malian junta officially ended the Algiers Agreement in January 2024, following the CSP's refusal to participate in junta-sponsored talks and higher diplomatic tensions between Mali and Algeria.

[64] The CSP accused the Wagner Group and Malian forces of the massacre of seventeen civilians in Ersane, between Tarkint and Anefis.

[70] When the Kidal offensive began on October 2, former Nigerien Tuareg rebel Rhissa Ag Boula, who opposed the July 2023 coup in Niger that overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, called on all his supporters to join the CSP-PSD in Mali and accused the Malian junta and Wagner of "inhumane and genocidal actions.

"[19] Abdalleh Ag Alhousseyni, lead singer of Tuareg rock band Tinariwen, cancelled a concert in Casablanca following the Malian capture of Kidal on November 14.