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Russia’s Africa Corps on October 7 provided details on the successful weeklong offensive operation that concluded with the liberation of the key city of Kidal in northern Mali.
In a statement posted to Telegram, the Africa Corps said the operation ran from October 1 through October 7 and involved Malian army units and Russian forces working with the GATIA and MSA armed groups.
The GATIA and MSA, which are mainly Tuareg, have cooperated with the Malian government against separatists and jihadist groups.
The joint force advanced more than 450 kilometers from Gao toward Kidal through difficult terrain, including mined areas, while taking control of settlements along the route, according to the Corps.
Russian and Malian aircraft provided air support to the ground advance, striking what the Africa Corps described as militant positions around Kidal as well as rear facilities in nearby Abeïbara, Tin-Essako, Talahandak, Tinzaouaten and Tessalit.
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The Corps said the offensive caused heavy losses among the opposing forces and prevented them from maintaining their positions around Kidal. It added that allied assault units entered the city from several directions, leaving the groups defending it unable to organize an effective resistance.
A day earlier, the Azawad Liberation Front, better known as the FLA, announced its withdrawal from Kidal. The Tuareg-dominated separatist group said it had carried out a “controlled and temporary” withdrawal to preserve its forces and resources. The group attributed its decision in part to intensified air operations by Malian forces and Russia’s Africa Corps and said its departure had taken place without direct fighting inside the city.
Mali’s government said that its forces had entered Kidal and were reinforcing their presence there. The city had been seized in April by the FLA in cooperation with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, an al-Qaida affiliate, during a broader offensive that struck several locations across Mali and killed Defense Minister Sadio Camara.
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Kidal carries particular political importance for Bamako because it has long been a center of Tuareg separatism and a symbol of the Malian state’s contested authority across the country’s vast northern territory. Malian forces previously recaptured the city in November 2023 after it had been held by Tuareg rebels for years, making its loss in April and return this week especially significant.
The Africa Corps described the latest operation as a major military and political victory for Mali and its Russian partners. It said troops were now conducting clearance operations, removing mines and unexploded ordnance and providing humanitarian assistance to civilians in the city.
The recapture gives Mali’s military government control of Kidal again, but it does not by itself end the insurgency in the country.
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