Field sources say a Malian military convoy was ambushed on Thursday while advancing towards the northern town of Anéfis in an attempt to break what they described as a siege on the town.
According to the sources, fighters from the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) had focused their efforts since Thursday morning on preventing the convoy from reaching Anéfis.
The sources said the convoy was forced to withdraw after three armoured vehicles and several military vehicles were destroyed. Images circulating on social media purportedly show the damaged vehicles, although Al Jazeera has not been able to verify the authenticity of the footage independently.
The account contradicts statements by the Malian army, which denied that the convoy had suffered losses. Field sources insist that the reinforcements failed to reach Anéfis.
In a separate development, another source said that while FLA fighters were engaged in clashes with the approaching convoy, two vehicles carrying wounded personnel left Anéfis. The source said one of the vehicles was driven by the commander of Russia’s Africa Corps contingent in Mali.
Conflicting accounts have emerged regarding the fate of the convoy. One source said the vehicles succeeded in reaching the reinforcements with the wounded on board, while another said they failed to break through the fighting and returned to the Russian military camp in Anéfis.
Meanwhile, the sources said Malian and Russian aircraft carried out air strikes on FLA positions around Anéfis. The FLA denied suffering any fatalities in the strikes.
Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify these claims, and the Malian military has not commented further.
