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Mali’s armed forces, backed by Russian mercenaries, targeted the key northern town of Kidal this week after it fell to a coalition of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatists in late April 2026. The offensive killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and the head of military intelligence.
The GuardianMali’s armed forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, launched airstrikes targeting a rebel alliance of Islamist extremists and Tuareg separatists after the group seized the key northern town of Kidal in late April 2026. Warplanes targeted Kidal earlier this week.
Witnesses said the government forces’ airstrikes destroyed only a house near an old market and left a crater inside the extensive courtyard of the governor’s office.
Russian-piloted and supplied military helicopters protected convoys or airlifted supplies to remote outposts where Mali’s army has mounted as yet ineffective efforts to reimpose government authority. The rebel offensive used ambushes, car bombs, drones and raids against strategic towns, government forces and their Russian auxiliaries.
Mali’s defence minister Sadio Camara died in a suicide attack on his residence in the garrison town of Kati, 9 miles (15km) north-west of Bamako.
The head of military intelligence was killed during the rebel offensive and rebels targeted Mali’s international airport. Rebels seized control of Kidal after soldiers fled and a force of Russian mercenaries surrendered. The defeat in Kidal reversed a key symbolic victory won by the junta in Mali three years ago.
Between 2,000 and 2,500 Russian mercenaries were first dispatched to Mali by the Kremlin in 2021. The rebel coalition unites the al-Qaida-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) with the Tuareg-dominated rebel group Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
The rebel coalition has continued striking dozens of military posts in the centre and north of Mali and is enforcing a strict blockade on Bamako.
Analysts said a fuel blockade imposed by JNIM last year caused severe problems for the junta. The new blockade is throttling the capital Bamako. Bamako is under tight curfew and a wave of arrests has been reported.
Malian army commander Djibrilla Maiga claimed at least two major routes out of the capital remained open. Djibrilla Maiga claimed Malian forces had neutralised several hundred terrorists since the April attacks. Rebels drove a car laden with explosives into the residence of Assimi Goïta last month.
Assimi Goïta is the leader of the government which took power after coups in 2020 and 2021. Hundreds of civilians have died in recent weeks, mostly in attacks against villages in the central Mopti region claimed by JNIM. A JNIM spokesperson said the villages had been targeted after breaking agreements made with the group to offer support and to avoid any cooperation with Mali’s authorities.
The UN secretary general António Guterres warned last week that the worsening security situation in Mali and the Sahel is driving a humanitarian emergency marked by growing violence against civilians, widespread displacement and growing food insecurity.
António Guterres called for dialogue and collaboration among countries in the region to address violent extremism and terrorism. The Guardian reported these developments.
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