Violence in Mali

Tuareg militia to Russian forces: “Get out of Mali”

A spokesman for the Tuareg-led militia FLA is urging Russian soldiers to leave Mali, saying the military junta will fall “sooner or later,” AFP reports.

“We have no particular problem with Russia or any other country. We have a problem with the regime that rules in (the capital) Bamako,” the spokesman says.

The FLA, a coalition of several ethnic groups and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists, wants to oust Mali’s ruling military junta and re-establish the breakaway state of Azawad in northern Mali. It existed for a short period between 2012 and 2013.

In the past week, the Tuareg militia has launched its most extensive attacks in nearly 15 years, killing the junta’s defense chief. Russian soldiers in the paramilitary Africa Corps fighting on the junta’s side have also suffered losses, according to Moscow.

Russian helicopters fire on rebels near Bamako

Russian paramilitary soldiers from the Africa Corps, which falls under the Ministry of Defense, carried out airstrikes by helicopter during the weekend's fighting outside the capital Bamako. The BBC reports, which has verified the footage.

Despite the military show of force, the Russians, who are fighting on the side of the ruling military junta, were forced to withdraw from the city of Kidal in northern Mali after being overwhelmed by rebels.

The Russian paramilitary Wagner Group arrived in Mali in 2021. A year earlier, the military junta had seized power, and when they ousted the French, Russia saw its chance to gain influence in the region.

After the Wagner Group's attempted coup at home in 2023, the Kremlin has begun to curtail the independence of the paramilitary groups and subordinate them to the state, with reduced combat effectiveness as a result.