Clashes between Ansar Dine and the Malian army

This was the first time that the Malian army clashed with one of the armed Islamist groups controlling the north of the country since April last year according to a report from Sahara Media.The Islamists had reportedly tried to make an advance into the government-controlled south.







Ansar Dine fighters left Timbuktu yesterday towards Mopti where the Malian army is preparing for the reconquest of the north. Eyewitnesses told  Sahara Media that trucks belonging to Ansar Dine drove in the direction of Mopti with men on board who had the appearance of preparing for battle.

The army used artillery against the Islamist fighters in the village of Gnimignama, 30km (19 miles) from army positions, according to army sources."Jihadist elements" are now deployed on several points along the frontier between the two sides, from the Mauritanian border in the west to the Douentza region in the east,  the Malian Defence Minister Colonel Yamoussa Camara told Radio France International.

Representatives of the Malian government and Ansar Dine and the MNLA are due to hold talks in neighbouring Burkina Faso on 10 January. Ansar Dine has cancelled its ceasefire.