Mali sent troops on Monday to retake the rebel stronghold of Kidal after Tuareg separatists seized local Government offices, taking hostages and engaging the army in a firefight in which dozens were killed.
Eight soldiers and 28 insurgents died in fighting on Saturday outside the regional governor’s offices while around 30 civil servants were being held hostage by the militants, the Government said.
“We have taken every measure necessary to reinforce our presence in the north,” a Malian Army source told AFP, declining to go into detail on the size of the deployment.
He said soldiers had been arriving since Saturday, while more were “on their way” from the city of Gao, a seven mile drive to the south-west, Anefis, a town between Gao and Kidal, and other locations.