The Malian army and its Russian allies have withdrawn from what is perhaps their strongest stronghold in northern Mali, a military base in Tessalit, several sources told AFP. It is one of a series of former UN bases that insurgents are now taking over.
An informant within the armed separatist forces that have taken over says that the army forces “just gave up, like they did in Kidal.”
Last weekend, a motley coalition of jihadist groups and separatist nomadic groups launched an unusually large-scale assault on the military junta's rule. The large city of Kidal was quickly captured, as were several other towns in the north.
In recent days, resistance groups have attempted to establish a roadblock around the capital Bamako, where sporadic fighting has taken place.
Neighbors to counterattack
Mali's military struck back on Thursday with "intensive aerial bombardments" in cooperation with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, Niger announced. It is not clear where, or with what result.
The three states are ruled by military coup plotters who seized power with Russian help. They have replaced UN forces, including Swedish soldiers, with Russian ones. They have also built a new military alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
During the war in Ukraine, Russia's commitments in West Africa have diminished. Russian forces have suffered several defeats and this weekend they were forced and escorted out of Kidal. Russian propaganda media claim that they were actually preventing a larger takeover.
“Have let us down”
The simmering Sahel conflict has flared up into a more war-like scenario. The resistance is made up of widely diverse groups - from al-Qaeda-linked jihadists to Tuaregs seeking to form a new desert state - but the jihadist umbrella organization JNIM on Thursday called on all groups to put ideology and religion aside in order to overthrow the military regime.
The junta's deputy leader, Sadio Camara, who had handled contacts with Russia, was killed by a car bomb in Bamako at the beginning of the escalation. Russia promises continued support, but the relationship is said to be very strained.
The Russians have betrayed us, a source in Mali's state apparatus told AFP.
In Burkina Faso, the government is reported to have sharply increased security in light of what is happening in Mali. Demonstrations of support have been organized in Niger's capital.
Facts: Russia in West Africa
Forces from the shadowy Wagner Group long carried out Russian missions in Africa. Their operations there have been taken over by the Russian military's so-called Africa Corps.
They have been active primarily in the so-called “coup belt” in southern Sahara. There have been Russian-backed military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and in the Central African Republic, Russian forces are helping the incumbent government.
The governments of Chad and Equatorial Guinea have recently approached Russia.
Russian soldiers have taken over battles against jihadists in the Sahel that were previously fought by UN troops. There are reports of massacres and abuses. The Russians are also reported to have guarded economic interests and natural resources, and conducted extensive propaganda.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have left the cooperation organization ECOWAS and the International Criminal Court (ICC). They have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which increasingly resembles a confederation with coordinated military power and common passports.
