Russia withdraws from Kidal barracks
- Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front said Russian Africa Corps fighters and Malian troops left Kidal on April 26 after a negotiated withdrawal. - The rebels said they now control Kidal “totally,” after coordinated attacks with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin hit Kidal, Gao, Bamako and other Malian cities. - Kidal had been retaken by Mali and Wagner in November 2023; losing it reverses a flagship junta victory. (france24.com)
Russian Africa Corps forces and Malian troops withdrew from Kidal on April 26 under a deal announced by Tuareg rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front. (france24.com) (piquenewsmagazine.com) The rebels said the agreement let the Malian army and its Russian allies leave “camp 2,” where they had been holed up since the previous day. A resident told Agence France-Presse a military convoy was seen leaving the city. (france24.com) RFI reported that Malian authorities described the move as a “repositioning” outside Kidal, effectively acknowledging they were no longer present in the city. The same report said official civilian authorities also left for Gao. (rfi.fr) Kidal is not just another northern town. It was the symbolic prize of the junta’s November 2023 campaign, when Malian forces and Wagner fighters took a city that had been a Tuareg rebel bastion for more than a decade. (france24.com 1) (france24.com 2) This time, the assault on Kidal was part of a wider offensive on April 25. France 24 and RFI said fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front coordinated with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, the al-Qaeda-linked group also known as JNIM or GSIM, in attacks stretching from Kidal and Gao to Bamako, Kati, Mopti and Sévaré. (france24.com) (rfi.fr) Associated Press, cited by Pique Newsmagazine, said this was the first time the separatists openly worked alongside JNIM. Sahel analyst Wassim Nasr said the coordination was both military and political. (piquenewsmagazine.com) France 24’s Observers unit said verified images showed Azawad flags back in central Kidal on April 25 and armed fighters moving freely near a military camp by midday. The outlet said street fighting then centered on a police compound before the rebels consolidated control. (france24.com) Africa Corps had taken over Russia’s Mali role after Wagner announced its departure in June 2025. RFI described Africa Corps as more tightly controlled by the Russian defense ministry than Wagner had been. (rfi.fr) The same weekend brought a second blow to Bamako. Mali’s junta confirmed that Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in attacks on April 25 and declared two days of national mourning. (rfi.fr) (france24.com) For now, the clearest fact is that Kidal has changed hands again. A city recaptured with Russian help in 2023 is now back under the control of the same separatist movement the junta said it had defeated. (france24.com) (rfi.fr)
