JNIM Captures Tessit — Malian Army Surrenders Weapons in Exchange for Safe Passage

On April 27, 2026, JNIM seized the town of Tessit in Mali's Gao Region after the Malian army agreed to surrender their weapons in exchange for safe passage out of the town. This represented another negotiated capitulation following the fall of Kidal — suggesting a wider pattern of FAMa positions collapsing across northern and eastern Mali in the wake of the April 25 offensive. The Long War Journal and OAF Nation both documented the Tessit takeover as part of JNIM and allied rebel forces surging across Mali, taking several cities while simultaneously pressuring the capital. Tessit is strategically significant as a transit point in the Gao-Ménaka corridor, giving JNIM additional control over movement between the two cities. The fall of Tessit — added to Kidal, Aguelhok, and Tessalit — means FAMa and Africa Corps have effectively lost all major positions north of the Niger River Bend within 48 hours of the April 25 offensive.