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Mali’s Tuareg rebels say Russian fighters must withdraw from country

Mali’s Tuareg rebels say Russian fighters must withdraw from country Mali’s Tuareg rebels

Mali military leader Goita emerges as Russia declares it halted coup

Tuareg separatist group on Saturday hit Mali’s main army base and the area near Bamako’s airport, while driving Russian soldiers – deployed in support of government forces – out of Kidal in the north

Mali hit by wave of coordinated attacks from armed groups

rebels, claimed that fighters have seized control of multiple areas and warned neighboring Sahel countries against intervening. Mali has faced escalating instability in recent years, with groups linked to al-Qaeda, including JNIM, and others

Mali rattled by ongoing armed attacks: What to know

withdrawal from Mali did not mean the departure of Russian fighters. Russian mercenaries have remained under the banner of the Africa Corps, a separate Kremlin-backed paramilitary group created after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin

What is the Azawad Liberation Front, part of the Mali attacks?

withdraw from Mali, Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group arrived in Bamako to fill the security gap. Mali, now suspended by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), also requested the exit

What role has Russia played in Mali’s security and the Sahel region?

rebels from capturing key positions, including the presidential palace in capital Bamako. But the security situation in the West African nation remains volatile, as the government has struggled to take back control of towns

Timeline: How Mali went from democracy beacon to instability

Fighters from another armed group, Ansar Dine, swiftly pushed out the Tuareg rebels and seized key northern cities. This triggered French military intervention in early 2013 at the request of the government. Ansar Dine later

Rival armed groups join forces against the Malian state: What next?

fighters launched attacks on fuel tankers, bringing Bamako to a standstill in October. It also imposed an economic and [fuel blockade](/news/2025/10/29/fuel-crisis-in-mali-spirals-as-armed-group-chokes-off-supplies-to-capital) by sealing off crucial highways used by tankers transporting fuel from neighbouring Senegal

Russian paramilitary carried out air strikes in Mali as rebels advanced, footage shows

Tuareg separatist forces on Saturday carried out attacks across Mali and killed the country's Defence Minister Sadio Camara. Russian forces claimed up to 12,000 fighters took part in the offensive. The Kremlin-controlled