27.4.2026
Russian forces began withdrawing from the city of Kidal, Mali, on Monday after a weekend of attacks across the country by Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Mali Defense Minister Gen. Sadio Camara, is among those who were killed in the attacks, the Malian government announced on Sunday. Spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said Camara was killed in a suicide bombing.
The West African country had several cities seized in a coordinated attack over the weekend, led by the group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM. The attacks also targeted the capital city Bamako and the home of Mali President Assimi Goïta.
Russia’s Africa Corps said on social media that they have pulled out of Kidal in northern Mali as the separatist group Azawad Liberation Front has taken control of the city. Azawad Liberation Front said Russian forces agreed to withdraw permanently.
Azawad Liberation Front spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane said Sunday the agreement with Russian troops will ensure “their secure withdrawal from the fighting.”
Kidal has been an unofficial headquarters for the separatist movement. Russian forces helped the Malian army seize the city in 2023.
JNIM said in a statement that the Azawad Liberation Front was a partner in its attacks across Mali.
Maj. Gen. Oumar Diarra, chief of general staff for the Malian military, said on Sunday that more than 200 separatist troops have been “neutralized” in the military’s counteroffensive.
“Search and sweep operations are continuing in practically all areas and we are searching for them, pursuing them and destroying them wherever they are found,” he said. UPI
Russian forces in Mali...