In a troubling development for the West African nation, Malian authorities reported multiple attacks by a Tuareg-led armed group across five locations, including a northern town hosting government forces and Russian fighters. The assaults occurred on Saturday, targeting Aguelhok, Anefis, Gao, Sevare, and Kenieroba, with the prison in Kenieroba being one of the sites under attack. The separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) claimed responsibility for the attack on Anefis, a northern town in the Kidal region, where government and Russian troops had been deployed following previous attacks in late April. The FLA has been seeking to establish an independent state in northern Mali for years. Meanwhile, gunfire and rockets were reported at military camps in Gao and Sevare, with explosions heard in the latter town, while a prisoner in Kenieroba confirmed the complex was under attack. These latest attacks mark another escalation in the ongoing conflict in Mali, where rebels have staged high-profile assaults, including hitting the airport in Bamako and seizing several army bases in the north, in April.