Mali's military announced on Friday that it has broken a rebel blockade around a strategic army base in the north as the West African country's junta battles a renewed offensive by separatists and al-Qaida-linked militants.
Anéfis is located between the separatist-controlled town of Kidal and the town of Gao, which is under the military government. Late on Thursday, separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, said they attacked a large convoy of reinforcements from the Malian army, their Russian Africa Corps allies and local militias, cutting off the base.
