The release of Malian soldiers by the FLA marks a shift in strategy for the rebel group. But Alghabass Ag Intalla, still the master of Kidal, has no intention of forfeiting the alliance he has forged with the JNIM jihadists. Between loyalists and allies of convenience, a map of the network underpinning the warlord’s power.
For nearly three years, he had nursed one obsession: retaking Kidal. On 25 April, Alghabass Ag Intalla achieved it. In a coordinated attack by fighters from Ag Intalla’s Front de Libération de l’Azawad (FLA) and their now-allies from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the Sahelian branch of Al-Qaeda, the Tuareg leader helped inflict on the Malian army and Russian forces of Africa Corps one of their most serious military setbacks since Assimi Goïta seized power. Since then, the alliance forged between rebels and jihadists has continued to strengthen.
