Wed 07 October 2026:
Russian-backed air and ground push restores government presence in the northern stronghold
Mali’s armed forces have moved back into the strategic northern city of Kidal, five months after separatist rebels took control of it, after an air and ground campaign supported by Russia’s Africa Corps.
In a statement broadcast on state television on Tuesday, Mali’s transitional government said troops had “consolidated their positions” in the city, “supported by their Russian partners”. The government said the return followed “intense air-ground neutralization operations”.
Separatists say they left without a fight
Armed groups that had held the city offered a different account, saying the Malian army entered Kidal on Tuesday without resistance. The Tuareg separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said earlier that day it had carried out a “strategic and controlled withdrawal” from Kidal. It pointed to the “disproportionate use of aerial assets by Russian mercenaries from Africa Corps”. The group described the pullback as a step intended to “preserve human lives” and as a temporary measure.
City changed hands again after April seizure
Separatists took Kidal, a longstanding Tuareg stronghold, in April during coordinated attacks across the country with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the regional affiliate of al-Qaeda. Those attacks, which also killed Mali’s defence minister, were the most serious challenge yet for the military leaders who seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021.
Mali has faced a security crisis since 2012, driven by fighters linked to various armed groups, including al-Qaeda, the ISIL (ISIS) group and Tuareg separatists. After the coups, the military government shifted away from Western partners and toward Russia for help against the groups. It first relied on the Wagner mercenary group, which was replaced in June 2025 by Africa Corps, a force under the direct control of Russia’s Defence Ministry. Malian troops and Wagner fighters had retaken Kidal from armed groups in November 2023, only to lose it again in April.
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Analyst calls recapture a morale boost, not a turning point
“A successful recapture… affirms the military-led government’s authority and boosts the army’s morale, particularly after several high-profile setbacks, both in the north and the central regions in recent weeks,” said Beverly Ochieng, associate director of Control Risks.
“This is also an opportunity for Africa Corps to reprise its role as the Malian government’s security guarantor after appearing to lose significant ground, including in Kidal, since April,” she told the Reuters news agency.
Ochieng added that the change of control in Kidal remains largely “symbolic” and not “decisive” in Mali’s campaign against rebel groups.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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