BAMAKO: Tuareg separatists in Mali said Tuesday they were withdrawing from the key northern city of Kidal, which they captured earlier this year, as the country’s armed forces announced “large-scale” operations in the region.

The Tuareg separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said in a statement it had “decided to carry out a strategic and controlled withdrawal of its forces from the city of Kidal”, after capturing it during April attacks alongside allied extremists who aimed to weaken Mali’s junta rulers.