Russian mercenaries to withdraw from Mali city after attacks

Russian mercenaries to withdraw from Mali city after attacks22 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMakuochi Okafor,BBC AfricaandHafsa KhalilAzawad Liberation Front via APFIghting between the FLA, Malian army and Russian mercenaries continued on SundayRussian mercenaries hired by Mali's military have agreed to withdraw from Kidal after two days of clashes, the country's separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) group has said, as it claims to control the city.This comes after the group - which seeks a breakaway ethnic Tuareg state in the north - took part in coordinated attacks by armed groups across Mali, including the capital, Bamako, on Saturday.Mali's Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks near Bamako, according to his family and French media. For years, Mali has been plagued by insurgencies by groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and the FLA.Fighting on Saturday had been reported in Kati, a major military base outside the capital, in Gao and Kidal in the north, and the central cities of Sevare and Mopti. Reports suggest the assault by the separatists was primarily focused on northern cities, while the jihadist group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) had staged simultaneous attacks on multiple locations across the country.Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Mali, told the BBC the incident appeared to be the "largest co-ordinated jihadist attack on Mali for years".FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said Kidal had "not fallen completely" during those attacks, at the time, telling the BBC they remained in the city because "elements of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries" were still present.On Sunday, clashes between the FLA and the Malian government resumed in Kidal.Shortly after these reports, Ramdane said: "An agreement was reached between the Azawad forces and the Russian elements of the Africa Co...