Ethnic Tuareg rebels, who have long controlled much of the north from Kidal, last month seized a base vacated by the departing United Nations peacekeeping mission, raising the spectre of a showdown as the army headed north to take it back.
"Today, our armed and security forces have taken over Kidal. Our mission is not complete," the west African country's interim President Assimi Goita said on social media platform X.
Goita said that the goal was to re-establish the territorial integrity of the country.
Reuters was unable to verify the situation on the ground and a spokesman for the rebels could not be reached for comment.
Kidal holds particular significance for Tuareg rebel groups who have long complained of government neglect and sought autonomy for the desert region they call Azawad.
Security analysts say a drawn out fight for the town could have far-reaching effects for Mali and its west African neighbours.
Mali, on the Sahara Desert's southern fringe, has been plagued by violence since 2012, when Islamist militants hijacked a northern Tuareg uprising.
The Tuaregs signed a peace accord with the government in 2015, but the Islamists have gone on to kill thousands of civilians.
Violence has increased since Mali's military took power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, kicked out French forces who were fighting the Islamists, teamed up with Russian military contractor Wagner Group, and ordered the UN mission to leave.
The UN had brokered the 2015 peace deal and played a role in maintaining calm.
That fell apart when it began packing up in August and the Tuareg rebels and the army started fighting over areas the UN was vacating.
For several days Mali's army, accompanied by mercenaries from the Wagner group, have been battling rebels in a bid to take control of Kidal for the first time in nearly a decade.Â
with AP
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