After a weekend of co-ordinated attacks across Mali by separatist fighters and Islamist militants, Russian forces who are in the country helping protect the military government have confirmed they have pulled out of the northern city of Kidal.
In a series of social media posts, Russia’s Africa Corps said they had “left the locality” along with Malian troops.
The separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) group said on Sunday the Russian troops had agreed to withdraw permanently, and claimed control of Kidal, declaring it “now free”.
Mali has faced insurgencies for years from the separatists in the north, and groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
On Saturday, explosions and sustained gunfire were reported in multiple parts of Mali, including the capital, Bamako.
Attacks were also reported in the central cities of Sevare and Mopti, as well as Gao and Kidal in the north, on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert.
In Kati – a town near the capital and home to a major military base – Malian Defence Minister Sadio Camara was killed in an apparent suicide truck bombing on his residence.
Reports suggest the assault by the FLA – who seek a breakaway state for northern areas dominated by ethnic Tuaregs – was primarily focused on cities in the region, while the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) had staged simultaneous attacks in multiple areas.
Fighting resumed in Kidal on Sunday, but shortly afterwards, FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said an agreement had been reached between them and the Russian Africa Corps with a “a view to ensuring their secure withdrawal from the fighting”.
He previously told the BBC the FLA had remained in the city because “elements of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries” were still present.
The group says it has taken control of the city, which served as an unofficial headquarters of the separatist movement for more than a decade before it was captured by Mali’s army with the help of Russian mercenaries in late 2023.
While the Russian Africa Corps confirmed they had withdrawn from Kidal, their posts on X on Monday stated that operations would continue elsewhere in the country, without giving further details.
In Kidal, the group said wounded personnel and heavy equipment had been evacuated.
“The situation in the Republic of Mali remains complex,” it wrote, adding that a number of civilians has also been injured and taken to their medical units.
Most fighters in the Africa Corps formerly belonged to the Russian mercenary Wagner group, which was active in the continent, hired by local governments to help curb insurgencies.
Following the death of their leader Yevgeni Prigozhin in 2023, most of the group’s operations were taken over by the Russian defence ministry, which provided the backbone to the newly-created Africa Corps.
The Africa Corps is overseen by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, with its operations run by Maj-Gen Andrey Averyanov, a key figure in the GRU military intelligence service.
Russia’s role in helping local governments stay in power has often been rewarded with access to crucial natural resources, such as gold, diamonds and uranium.
Just like Wagner, the Africa Corps has been accused of committing numerous atrocities against civilians.
In Mali, Africa Corps members are reportedly paid an equivalent of at least $3,000 (£2,200) a month.
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