France, May 1 -- Forces at Mali's Tessalit military base, a "super-camp" near the Algerian border, surrendered and were scattering southward, an official from the Tuareg-dominated FLA separatist group told AFP.

The FLA's allies, jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), are calling for cooperation to bring down the junta that has run Mali since 2020.

Friday's assault follows large-scale, fatal attacks at the weekend by the separatist and jihadist rebels on key junta strongholds across Mali.

And it comes just one day after JNIM began a road blockade on the capital, Bamako. Only people already in the city were allowed to leave.

A security source in Gao, south of Tessalit, told AFP that "no cla...