“An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave.” With that sentence on Sunday, April 26, 2026, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg-dominated rebel group, announced it had struck a deal over Kidal, the northern Malian town it now controlled.
A day later Moscow confirmed the exit. Africa Corps, a paramilitary force under Russia’s Defence Ministry, told Reuters in a Telegram statement that its units had left Kidal alongside Malian Army personnel, in line with “a joint decision by the leadership of the Republic of Mali.” The statement added that “wounded servicemen and heavy equipment were evacuated first” and that the situation in Mali “remains difficult.”
A weekend of coordinated attacks
The Kidal pullout came out of a wave of strikes across the country. The FLA hit Kidal and other places at the weekend in coordination with West Africa’s al Qaeda affiliate, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). France 24 called it the worst violence since the military junta took power in 2020, with attacks as far as Kati, near the capital Bamako.
Defence Minister General Sadio Camara died on Saturday. Government spokesman Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said he was killed in a suicide bombing, while France 24 reported that assailants targeted his house in Kati.
Fighting continued in Kati on Sunday. Officials insisted the situation was “totally under control” and reported 16 civilian and soldier casualties.
What the rebels said
An FLA spokesman, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, told reporters the agreement allowed the Russians a “secure withdrawal from the fighting.” UPI reported that the FLA indicated the Russians agreed to withdraw permanently. JNIM, for its part, claimed the FLA was a partner in its attacks.
Kidal carries weight. It has long served as an unofficial headquarters for the separatist movement, and Russian forces had helped the Malian army capture it in 2023.
Mali’s chief of general staff, Maj. Gen. Oumar Diarra, gave the army’s version of the counteroffensive: more than 200 separatist troops “neutralized,” with search and sweep operations continuing “in practically all areas.”
In Russia, war bloggers played the withdrawal down. Yuri Podolyak, who has over 2.7 million followers, called leaving the only option. He saw room for a deal with the Tuaregs that would free the Malian Army and Africa Corps to concentrate on Islamist fighters.
Africa Corps took over Wagner Group operations in Africa after founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death in 2023. Mali’s rulers, like those in Niger and Burkina Faso, have turned away from France and the West toward Russia.
Sources
- Mali's Tuareg Rebels Announce Russian Africa Corps Withdrawal from Kidal
- Mali defense minister dead; Russian forces withdraw after attacks
- Russia's Africa Corps confirms withdrawal from Mali's Kidal
