Mali’s armed forces have launched a new phase in their battle to reclaim the country’s north, carrying out a series of overnight air and artillery strikes on the rebel-held city of Kidal, a long-contested stronghold in the desert region.

Residents reported hearing multiple explosions through the night, describing blasts powerful enough to rattle homes and send plumes of dust and smoke over parts of the city. Local sources said at least four strikes hit targets in and around central Kidal, causing significant material damage and deepening fears among civilians already living under the shadow of conflict.

One strike reportedly destroyed a house near a former market area, while another hit the governor’s compound, a symbolically important site in a city that has repeatedly slipped from government control. There were no immediate confirmed figures on casualties, but residents spoke of families fleeing the most heavily affected neighborhoods at first light.

A Malian army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said the operations were aimed at what he called “specific military objectives” linked to Tuareg separatist fighters and their jihadist allies. He warned that the campaign would intensify, suggesting that the overnight bombardment marked only the opening salvo in a broader push to weaken armed groups entrenched in the north.

Kidal has long been at the heart of Mali’s overlapping conflicts. For more than a decade, it served as an unofficial headquarters for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front coalition, which has sought autonomy or independence for the country’s vast northern territories. The city’s remote location and harsh terrain have made it both a refuge and a launchpad for insurgent operations.

The balance of power shifted when Mali’s army, backed by Russian mercenaries, retook Kidal in a major offensive in late 2023. But in recent months, Tuareg rebels and fighters from the al Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its French acronym JNIM, mounted coordinated attacks across northern Mali, overrunning several military bases and reasserting their presence in and around the city.

On the morning after the strikes, witnesses described an eerie calm. Streets that would normally see a trickle of motorbikes and battered taxis were largely empty, with residents staying indoors, uncertain whether the bombardment was over or only paused.