Rebels jeered Putin’s troops out of a key African town. Now his regional grip is slipping away
The retreat followed a coordinated assault by al Qaeda-linked militants and Tuareg rebels, underscoring Moscow’s weakening security role in the Sahel.
- Last month, the Russia-backed Africa Corps withdrew from the strategic stronghold of Kidal in northern Mali, retreating under the jeers of the very rebels they were sent to crush.
- An unusual alliance of militants linked to al Qaeda and Tuareg separatist rebels launched simultaneous attacks on April 25, overrunning military bases across northern Mali and forcing the withdrawal.
- Facing encirclement in Kidal, the Africa Corps, now operating under the Russian Defense Ministry after replacing the Wagner Group, negotiated a safe-passage agreement with militants to evacuate personnel.
- Online videos showed Tuareg fighters mocking the departing Russian convoy, while Bakary Sambe, director of the Senegal-based Timbuktu Institute, called the withdrawal "a significant reputational setback" for President Vladimir Putin.
- Mali faces a strategic dilemma as the junta diversifies security partnerships through the Alliance of Sahel States and expanded procurement from China and Turkey, though Russia remains the sole partner willing to deploy combat forces directly into frontline operations.
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19 Articles
Russian troops of the Africa Corps had to surrender in northern Mali to secure an orderly retreat.
Local 3 News
KEZI 9 NewsWhen Russian forces withdrew last month from the strategic enclave of Kidal, in northern Mali — amid the mockery of the same rebels who had been sent to crush — they lost more than territory.
"Africa Corps, the Russian paramilitary expeditionary group controlled and led by the Russian government, has yielded more than just a territory in Africa.
Rebels have expelled Putin's troops from Africa's key city. Now Russia's regional control is weakening
21st Century Wire
Aletho NewsFrance’s Shadow War in Mali
Freddie Ponton 21st Century Wire France did not really leave Mali. It changed tactics and found new hands to carry the gun. After being pushed out by a military government that turned toward Russia, China, and the wider Global South, Paris appears to have re-entered the war through Ukrainian military intelligence channels, long-standing Tuareg networks, and a battlefield configuration in which separatist rebels and Al-Qaedaʼs Sahel branch were h…
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