In Mali, a synchronized assault orchestrated by the JNIM, an Al-Qaeda-aligned terrorist group, and the Front de Libération de l’Azawad (FLA), a Tuareg rebel faction, successfully routed the Malian military and its Russian allies from the Africa Corps across various towns in late April. Our journalists were able to embed with FLA combatants within Kidal, a strategically vital city now under their firm control after having been recaptured by government forces in late 2023. The fierce engagements prompted a complete evacuation of the local population, as these Tuareg rebels, now operating in alliance with JNIM, brace themselves for an impending counter-offensive from the Malian authorities.