The agreement was reached after negotiations with Malian and foreign intermediaries.
On Sunday, the Liberation Front of Azawad (FLA) and the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) carried out a prisoner exchange in Anefis, according to security and civil society sources.
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The FLA released 22 members of the Malian military junta, while Bamako freed nine fighters from the independence movement seeking the separation of the northern region of Azawad.
The agreement was reached after negotiations with Malian and foreign intermediaries, including countries friendly to Mali, which reflects a diplomatic effort to reduce tensions amid the armed conflict.
This exchange follows the one on August 13, when 86 FAMa members and two Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the Malian army were released, in a context of rapprochement with Algeria.
Russia’s Africa Korps has reportedly suffered further losses in Mali.
A joint convoy of Russian mercenaries and the Malian Armed Forces was ambushed by Tuareg forces from the JNIM and their allies.
As a result of the ambush, Malian soldiers and Russians were killed or… pic.twitter.com/LRH9l6f1b9
— MAKS 26
(@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) July 18, 2026
Since August 2023, northern Mali has experienced a renewed escalation of clashes between the army and separatist groups linked to the ALF Defense Forces, supported by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
The country has also experienced prolonged political instability, marked by two coups since 2020, which have weakened institutions and created a climate of separatist and jihadist violence.
The country has distanced itself from its former colonial power, France, seeking new allies such as Russia, in an attempt to bolster its military capacity against the insurgency in the Sahel.
#DRC | Ebola cases are rising rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with thousands of infections and more than 2,000 deaths reported as health teams work to contain the outbreak.
But what is driving its rapid spread, and why has containing the virus become so… pic.twitter.com/oiT2oicKjl
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) August 12, 2026
teleSUR: JP
Source: EFE
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