[An Nahar] Mali's army on Thursday reinforced its positions at Anefis, a strategic access point for the rebel-held town of Kidal, after a day of heavy fighting, military sources said."We are reinforcing and consolidating our positions at Anefis while waiting for favorable conditions to pursue the operation" towards Kidal in the northeast, army front man Lieutenant-Colonel Souleymane Maiga told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"Since yesterday (Wednesday), the whole Anefis sector has been under the total control of the army," a regional military source confirmed.
"The Malian soldiers who entered Anefis have not left the zone for Kidal," added the source. Anefis is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Kidal.
Kidal, a town prized by the Tuaregs, has been occupied by the rebel National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) since the end of January.
But Mali's army has declared its intention to recapture the town before a presidential election due across the divided west African country on July 28.
Wednesday's fighting at Anefis erupted after more than 100 black inhabitants were expelled from Kidal, while many others were placed in durance vile
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
by the lighter-skinned Tuaregs of the MNLA in an act denounced as "ethnic cleansing" by the Bamako government.
In a new casualty toll issued Thursday, the army said that the fighting left "30 dead" on the rebel side and two Malian soldiers maimed.
The MNLA challenges these figures, stating that one fighter was killed and three maimed on its side, while front man Mossa Ag Attaher said the Tuaregs had "blown up several vehicles with soldiers inside" and taken many prisoners.
"If the abuses continue, the army will have to pursue its march on Kidal, then move up to Tessalit," further north, Lieutenant-Colonel Maiga said, but he added that "we are aware that a chance has to be given to dialogue".
The Bamako government on Wednesday night announced "its readiness for dialogue to recover the national unity and integrity of the territory", in a statement.
It added that the "objective sought" by the military offensive is "to bring back peace and security to the whole of the national territory, to promote the return of the administration".
It also aims to ensure that the presidential poll is held "in a secured environment on the planned date".
Malian authorities and representatives of the Tuaregs occupying Kidal are due to meet Friday in Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and may be in the process of being chased out now...
's capital Ouagadougou for direct negotiations mediated by Burkinabe authorities, despite the festivities on Wednesday.