Tuareg separatists in Mali say Russian forces must withdraw from Mali

INTERNATIONAL – AFRICA

30 APRIL 2026

• Tuareg rebels want Russian forces to withdraw from “all of Mali”, a spokesman for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition told, after Islamist insurgents and separatists launched attacks destabilising the country.
• At the weekend, jihadists and Tuareg separatists, who have joined forces against the ruling junta and its Russian paramilitary backers, launched a wave of attacks on strategic junta positions, including areas around the capital, Bamako.
• The rebels captured the key town of Kidal in the mostly desert north, and Defence Minister Sadio Camara, seen as the mastermind behind the junta’s pivot to Russia, was killed in two days of fierce fighting.
• The Russians asked for a secure corridor to withdraw.