Fresh clashes have broken out in northern Mali, heightening tensions between the Malian army and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA). The FLA says it carried out a deadly ambush on a military convoy and shot down a Malian aircraft—claims swiftly denied by the national army.

Backed by Russian instructors from the Africa Corps, the army insists its operations are ongoing and that recent missions in the region remain successful.

The renewed violence underscores the fragility of security in Mali’s north, where rebel forces continue to challenge state authority and external military support.