Mali defense minister killed; Russia's Africa Corps withdraws from rebel-held town

"Mali's defense minister, Sadio Camara, who had close ties to Russia, was killed in an

insurgent attack on his home near the capital, Bamako, a government spokesperson said April 26, as Russian forces withdrew from a northern town after clashes with rebels.
Camara was killed April 25 when assailants targeted his residence, the spokesperson said on state television the following day. According to Reuters, an affiliate of al Qaeda in West Africa claimed responsibility for the attack.
Camara had connections to Russia and the Wagner Group, the private military company whose Africa operations were later absorbed into the Africa Corps under Russia's defense ministry. The Africa Corps has played a central role in supporting Mali's ruling junta." KI

Coordinated attacks by militants and separatists strike Mali's major cities

"Islamic militants and separatists launched a series of attacks across Mali, marking one of the most extensive coordinated assaults in recent years. Targets included the capital, Bamako, and several other cities, leading to widespread violence and chaos.
The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako's international airport and four additional cities in central and northern Mali. The group stated that the assaults were executed in collaboration with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist organization." msn

Militants from Russia's African Corps committing atrocities in Mali

"Militants from Russia's African Corps are committing numerous killings, rapes and other crimes in the African country of Mali. These fighters, subordinated to Russia's Defense Ministry, have replaced the Wagner Private Military Company, once a powerful Russian paramilitary formation used in covert overseas operations.
According to the refugees, the African Corps uses the same tactics as Wagner. Two refugees

showed video footage of villages burned by "white men". Two others said they had found the bodies of their relatives with their livers and kidneys missing, something that had previously been reported in connection with Wagner's activities.
"It's a scorched-earth policy. The soldiers speak to no one. Anyone they see, they shoot. No questions, no warning. People don't even know why they are being killed," said a Malian village chief who fled.
AP noted that the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned from Western allies to Russia for help in fighting militants linked to al-Qaeda or Islamic State.
When the African Corps replaced Wagner six months ago, civilians hoped the brutality would decrease. The United Nations says they have suffered abuses by all sides in the conflict. But refugees have spoken about a new reign of terror by the African Corps.
AP gained access to the Mauritanian border, where thousands of Malians have fled in recent months due to intensified fighting. The agency spoke to 34 refugees who described indiscriminate killings, abductions and sexual violence. Most of them spoke on condition of anonymity.
"They are the same men, paid by the government, and continue the massacres. There is no difference between Wagner and Africa Corps," the village elder said.
The Malian authorities have never publicly acknowledged the presence of Wagner  But in recent weeks, Russian state media have released reports from Mali praising the African Corps for protecting the country from "terrorists", and Russia's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the unit operates "at the request of the Malian authorities", providing ground escorts, conducting search-and-rescue operations and other tasks, AP says." Pravda

Al-Qaeda militants poised to take over an entire country

"Al-Qaeda is tightening its grip on Mali’s capital in a Taliban-style bid to seize control of the

west African nation.
Militants have blocked fuel entry to cities and are closing in on Bamako, raising fears it could become the first country ruled by the terror group in its nearly four-decade history.
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, has spent weeks targeting fuel convoys bound for the capital.
The military junta that has been ruling Mali since a 2021 coup has shut schools across the country while petrol stations are running dry.
The blockade has hit the capital hard over the past two weeks and brought the landlocked Sahel nation’s economy to a halt.
Sources told The Telegraph that Turkey has been supplying drones, while Russia has become Mali’s main security partner." msn

Russia’s Wagner mercenaries leaving Mali, Africa Corps to remain

"Russia’s Wagner mercenary group says it will withdraw from Mali after more than three and a half years on the ground.
The paramilitary force announced the move on Friday, claiming it had successfully completed its mission against armed groups in the West African nation.
But Wagner’s withdrawal from Mali does not mean the country will be without Russian fighters. Russian mercenaries will remain under the banner of the Africa Corps, a separate Kremlin-backed paramilitary group created after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian military in June 2023." AlJazeera

Ivory Coast to withdraw French troops

"Ivory Coast has announced the withdrawal of French troops, marking the end of a decades-

long military presence in the country. President Alassane Ouattara confirmed that the process will begin in January 2025, with the Port Bouët military base handed over to Ivorian forces. "We have decided on a coordinated and organized withdrawal of French forces," Ouattara said. France currently has up to 600 soldiers stationed in the country. This decision aligns with similar actions by other West African nations, including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, where anti-French sentiment has grown. France has faced military expulsions across 70% of African countries where it once maintained a presence. Recent withdrawals include Senegal and Chad, traditionally seen as strong French allies." AfricanNews

Mali expels Swedish ambassador amid strained relations with the West

"Mali has ordered Sweden's ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours because of what it called a “hostile” statement by a Swedish minister, the government said on Friday.

Ambassador Kristina Kuhnel’s expulsion comes after Mali on Monday announced it was severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine. Bamako’s decision to cut ties with Kyiv prompted Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and trade, Johan Forssell, to say on Wednesday that the government had decided to phase out bilateral aid to Mali due to its ties to Moscow.
"You cannot support Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and at the same time receive several hundred million kronor each year in development aid," Forssell said on social media platform X. Mali and its neighbours, Niger and Burkina Faso, also led by juntas, have pivoted away from their traditional Western allies to form closer ties with Russia." AfricaNews

Mali cuts diplomatic ties with Ukraine over Wagner attack controversy

"Mali has announced it is severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine, accusing a senior official of having admitted Kyiv’s role in a heavy defeat in July that killed dozens of mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group as well as Malian soldiers." AJ

What Is Ukrainian Intelligence Doing in Africa?

"The defeat in Mali is the worst the Wagner Group has suffered—outside of its operations in the war against Ukraine—since February 2018. At that time, U.S. Army helicopters

destroyed a similar convoy near the Syrian town of Kasham. The coalition of Tuareg rebels operates in northern Mali under the name "Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad." In recent years, Wagner Group's Russian private army mercenaries have fought on the side of the Malian government. Among those killed in the attack was Nikita Fedyanin, the author of the Telegram channel "Gray Zone" with over half a million subscribers. Fedyanin reported on the Wagner Group. Since February 20, there have been several posts on that channel about the offensive in northeastern Mali. Fedyanin allegedly handed over photos to the channel showing that Tuaregs were trained by members of the Ukrainian military intelligence service (HUR). Ukrainian military intelligence service was involved in the attack on Wagner mercenaries in Mali. Ukraine and its allies are doing everything they can to undermine Russia. To fight against the Tuareg rebel coalition, the Malian junta under Colonel Assimi Goita decided to hire the Russian "Wagner Group."
Ukrainian units were engaged in Sudan during the fall: they disrupted the logistics of the rebels, mined roads to Khartoum, and conducted night drone attacks. "Our goal was never to track individual Wagner mercenaries." . "If Ukrainian forces' involvement in Mali is confirmed, it means that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is not limited to Ukrainian territory but extends to other places, especially Africa," said Nina Wilén." FW

Wagner fighter makes last stand against the Tuareg

"A member of the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group has chosen death over capture, attacking Tuareg militants with a stone, a highly disturbing video circulating online shows.

A military convoy carrying contractors of the PMC and Malian soldiers was reportedly ambushed last week in the vicinity of the village of Tinzawaten, close to the country’s border with Algeria. The Tuareg insurgents killed dozens of PMC contractors, taking a handful hostage, unconfirmed media reports and unverified videos circulating online suggest.
One of the fighters, presumed to be a member of the Wagner Group, given his ethnicity and an old-fashioned Soviet-style camouflage choice, made a bold last stand against the militants, a highly disturbing video shows.
The fighter played dead while insurgents were kicking him, before abruptly getting up and charging the militants with a stone. While some of the Tuareg began fleeing the fighter, one of them militants gunned him down at point blank range." RT

Mali rebels offer to hand over captured Wagnerites to Ukraine

"The Tuareg rebels (CSP-PSD) in the north of the African country of Mali, who defeated a large group of Wagnerites and captured a significant number of militants, offered to hand them over to the Ukrainian side. Earlier today it became known that rebels of an association of armed groups in the north of Mali, inhabited mainly by Tuareg, announced the killing of dozens of soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner PMC in a clash near the border with Algeria." Ukrin

Niger soldiers killed in ambush in volatile border region

"Niger says 23 of its soldiers have been killed in a "terrorist" ambush near the borders with

Burkina Faso and Mali in a western region prone to jihadist attacks.
Niger is ruled by military leaders who seized power in a July coup, citing a worsening security situation as justification for the power grab. Nigerien soldiers were engaged in a security sweep in Tillaberi, in the three borders area. More than 100 "terrorists" in vehicles and on motorbikes attacked the army unit between Teguey and Bankilare using "home-made bombs and suicide vehicles".
In addition to the 23 soldiers who died, 17 were wounded." MS

Guinea-Bissau: Army Detains suspects Amid Security Forces Clashes

"Guinea-Bissau's army announced on Friday that it had detained the leader of the security forces unit responsible for overnight clashes in the capital and asserted that the situation was now under control.

Throughout the night and into Friday morning, gunfire erupted in Bissau during confrontations between members of the national guard and presidential guard special forces.
The gunfire ensued following the release of two government members by national guard soldiers, who had been questioned by the police on Thursday.
The two men had been summoned by the judiciary on the same day and taken into custody. The reinforcement of presidential security comes at a time when coups or attempted coups are multiplying in West Africa, including in Gabon, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and, last week, Sierra Leone." AN

Putin discusses economic cooperation and security with Malian leader

"Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Mali’s interim leader, Assimi Goita.

They discussed issues including the security situation in the Sahel region, which has endured more than a decade of jihadist violence." MS

Russia vetoes UN sanctions on African country

"All UN sanctions against Mali will end on August 31, after Russia vetoed the proposal by
France and the UAE to have them extended. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, said that the draft completely disregarded the concerns of both Bamako and Moscow." RT

Response to Niger coup may escalate into ‘world African war’

"A Western-driven campaign to force Niger’s acting government to restore former President

Mohamed Bazoum to power following last week’s military coup could bubble up into a wider conflict pitting NATO powers against Russia and China......“We are now at the door of a world African war,” African Freedom Institute President Franklin Nyamsi said.....ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) imposed sanctions on the new Nigerien government last week, suspending all financial transactions and freezing the country’s assets in ECOWAS-member states. Regional development banks cut off all assistance, as did the EU and France. The US and the African Union also threatened to follow suit. ECOWAS demanded that the junta restore Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since the coup.....A military intervention by ECOWAS would be a “declaration of war” not only against Niger, but also against dissenting members, including Burkina Faso, Mali and possibly Guinea....The two ECOWAS factions – pro-NATO vs. pan-African – might not only fight each other, but also seek assistance from their powerful allies, Nyamsi said. Niger’s backers would likely call on Russia, China and Iran for help. Possibly they want to export a world war in Africa between, finally, the two main blocs of the old Cold War.” RT

Why Nigerien Protesters Want French Army Out & Wave Russian Flags

"The latest protests in Niger were organized by the M62 movement, a group of NGOs which reportedly describes itself as "peaceful" and committed to "the dignity and sovereignty of the Nigerien people." Seydou Abdoulaye, the coordinator of the M62 Movement, told Agence France Presse (AFP) that Nigeriens demand the immediate departure of French troops from Niger as the military deployment violates Niger's sovereignty and destabilizes the Sahel.

France has beefed up its presence in Sahel since January 2013 when it launched Operation Serval to halt the advance of a coalition of Tuareg rebel and Islamist fighters in Mali. The French intervention came on the heels of the 2011 destruction of Libya by NATO. Following the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi’s government by NATO-backed rebels, the power vacuum saw greater destabilization in the region. The French-led Operation Barkhane succeeded Operation Serval in August 2014: approximately 4,500 French troops were deployed between Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad.

The fact that Nigeriens carried Russian flags during the protests could be explained by the people's belief that "Russia’s presence in the region may rescue them and Russia as a strong nation is maybe able to secure the region by fighting the insurgency," according to Dr. Ismael Buchanan.

On the other hand, the pro-Russian sentiment in Niger could be driven by Mali's decision to invite Russian military advisers from the PMC Wagner Group to cope with the rebel and jihadism threat following France's unilateral decision to pull out from the country." Sputnik

Russian Troops Blunder in Mali while helping hunt Terrorists in Africa

"Malian troops and suspected Russian fighters allegedly executed around 300 civilian men over five days during a military operation in a central Malian town in late March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on Tuesday. FRANCE 24 terrorism expert Wassim Nasr gives his analysis, saying that this was a counter-jihadist operation sparked by bad intelligence. 

The alleged killings took place between March 27 and 31 in the town of Moura, a rural town of around 10,000 inhabitants in central Mali’s Mopti region, a hotspot of extremist activity that has intensified and spread to neighbouring countries in the Sahel region. Since many weeks the Malian military – helped with Russian elements – is trying to make a kind of surge in the central region of Mali.

The Malian army "based their operation there on bad information – or bad intelligence", Nasr explained. “I got to know that a member of the first circle of Mohamad Koufa, a prominent leader of al Qaeda there, was caught and brought into interrogation in [the Malian capital] Bamako – and actually this person gave some information, saying that Koufa could be in this region of Moura, which launched this operation with at least 100 Russian operatives backing the Malian army." France24