DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Mali's government says that a school has reopened after three years in Kidal, a northern town that was previously held by Islamic extremists and is now administered by Tuareg separatists.

The announcement that classes have resumed at the Kidal school was made on state television Monday night.

El Milick Hartata Ah, director of the Kidal academy, said the school lacks supplies because of the war.

The school has 20 teachers, although it needs 30, he said. The school used to have 7,000 students, but it is not known how many students have returned to class, said Hartata Ah.

The Tuareg separatist movement, the Coordination of Azawad, which controls the city of Kidal confirms that there is adequate security for the students.