{"id":909954,"date":"2026-06-02T15:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/rebels-jeered-putins-troops-out-of-a-key-african-town-now-his-regional-grip-is-slipping-away\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:12:10","slug":"rebels-jeered-putins-troops-out-of-a-key-african-town-now-his-regional-grip-is-slipping-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/rebels-jeered-putins-troops-out-of-a-key-african-town-now-his-regional-grip-is-slipping-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebels jeered Putin\u2019s troops out of a key African town. Now his regional grip is slipping away"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Abuja<\/span>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span> <\/cite><\/p>\n

When Russian forces withdrew last month from the strategic stronghold of Kidal in northern Mali \u2014 retreating under the jeers<\/a> of the very rebels they were sent to crush \u2014 they surrendered more than just territory.<\/p>\n

Observers characterize the withdrawal of the Kremlin-backed Africa Corps as a humiliating blow to Moscow\u2019s prestige as a leading security partner in Africa\u2019s Sahel region, widely considered the world\u2019s deadliest terror hotspot.<\/p>\n

Since militants linked to al Qaeda and the northern separatist Tuareg rebels launched simultaneous attacks<\/a> on April 25 \u2014 the most audacious in over a decade \u2014 Mali has plunged deeper into chaos. Their rare alliance enabled a rapid campaign that saw several military bases overrun across northern Mali.<\/p>\n

Facing encirclement in the desert town of Kidal, the Africa Corps \u2014 now operating under Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry after replacing the Wagner Group \u2014 negotiated a safe-passage agreement with militants to evacuate its personnel. The episode underscored growing limits to Moscow\u2019s ability to protect its allies, mirroring recent failures<\/a> to secure the regimes of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in Venezuela, and the leadership in Iran.<\/p>\n

Kidal, which is about 1,000 miles northeast of the capital Bamako, was seized by the Malian army and Russian mercenaries in 2023, bringing an end to nearly a decade of rebel rule.<\/p>\n

That victory symbolized Moscow\u2019s dominance over Western efforts in Africa and highlighted Russia\u2019s growing influence in the Sahel, where anti-Western sentiment has been on the rise. The Sahel stretches more than 3,000 miles across Africa just below the Sahara Desert and includes swathes of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Cameroon and The Gambia.<\/p>\n

Russia stepped into this space<\/a> after Western forces, which were involved in counterterrorism operations in parts of the Sahel, were forced out<\/a> by various governments in the region between 2022 and last year.<\/p>\n

Mali, a former French colony long gripped by insurgency, is governed by a military junta following consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021. After cutting ties with French forces and United Nations peacekeepers, the regime turned to Moscow for security support.<\/p>\n

However, the fall of Kidal now exposes the fragility of that strategy.<\/p>\n

On April 26, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a mainly Tuareg separatist group, declared on social media<\/a> that it had reached an agreement with Russian troops to vacate Kidal permanently, proclaiming the town \u201cis now free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Videos soon emerged online<\/a> showing Tuareg fighters mocking a convoy of departing Russian vehicles fleeing their base.<\/p>\n

The crisis deepened with the assassination of Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara, a Russian-trained officer and key architect of Mali\u2019s shift toward Moscow. He was killed in a suicide vehicle bombing at his home near Bamako. The al Qaeda-linked group Jama\u2019at Nusrat al-Islam al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack on Camara\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

With JNIM now threatening a complete blockade of Bamako and urging Malians to revolt against the junta and adopt Sharia law, the regime\u2019s promises to \u201cneutralize\u201d these threats with Russian support appear unconvincing.<\/p>\n

As Western influence in Africa declines, Russia has become the top choice for embattled leaders seeking security assistance without the West\u2019s human rights conditions. However, Moscow\u2019s approach is largely transactional: security for resources.<\/p>\n

The scale of Africa\u2019s pivot to Russia was highlighted at the 2023 Russia\u2013Africa Summit in <\/strong><\/a>St. Petersburg, where President Vladimir Putin announced military cooperation pacts with more than 40 nations.<\/p>\n

However, Russia\u2019s military presence in Africa was pioneered by the Wagner Group, which operated in troubled nations such as Libya, Mozambique and the Central African Republic (CAR) long before.<\/p>\n

In CAR, one of the world\u2019s poorest nations and where Wagner\u2019s structure has remained entrenched since 2018, CNN investigations found<\/strong><\/a> that companies linked to its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin \u2014 who is now deceased \u2014 had secured concessions to mine gold and diamonds.<\/p>\n

While the CAR government credits \u201cRussian instructors\u201d with training its army and helping prevent total state collapse<\/a>, these victories remain fragile as armed rebels continue to control portions of the country.<\/p>\n

The transition from Wagner to the Africa Corps<\/a> has not halted rising insecurity in militarily- <\/s>led Sahelian nations like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.<\/p>\n

Analysts argue that Russia\u2019s promises have largely fallen short. \u201cThe only victory of the Russians (in Mali) was the conquest of Kidal in 2023,\u201d says Mali-based Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the German think-tank Konrad Adenauer Foundation.<\/p>\n

H\u00e9ni Nsaibia, a senior analyst at the crisis-monitoring group, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), adds that the Kremlin\u2019s security model is a surface-level fix for a deep-seated crisis in the Sahel.<\/p>\n

While it can provide quick military support, \u201cit does very little to address the underlying drivers of militancy in the region, such as weak governance, corruption, socio-economic marginalization, ethnic tensions, and lack of state legitimacy,\u201d he told CNN.<\/p>\n

As Kidal returns to rebel hands, Bakary Sambe, director of the Senegal-based Timbuktu Institute think-tank, says it marks \u201ca significant reputational setback\u201d for Putin in Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cKidal\u2019s fall and the humiliating and filmed retreat of the Russians have massively damaged Moscow\u2019s reputation and its ambitions in Africa,\u201d Laessing added, suggesting that confidence in the Africa Corps could decline.<\/p>\n

Laessing asserted that the perception that Russian forces withdraw under pressure may deter future partnerships.<\/p>\n

Still, analysts caution that Russia remains vital to Mali\u2019s leadership. Its presence has strengthened the country\u2019s military capacity and helped stabilize the regime, at least temporarily, according to Nsaibia.<\/p>\n

Russian forces have suffered heavy casualties in Mali<\/strong><\/a>, including a deadly ambush in 2024 that killed multiple Wagner fighters.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry stated that the situation in Mali \u201cremains challenging,\u201d<\/a> disclosing that while the Africa Corps withdrew from Kidal, it prevented a broader collapse by thwarting an attempted coup on April 25.<\/p>\n

It warned that militant groups remain active and are regrouping.<\/p>\n

Tuareg representatives, meanwhile, have called on Russian forces to leave Mali entirely<\/a>, predicting the eventual fall of the junta.<\/p>\n

As insecurity intensifies, Mali\u2019s junta faces a strategic dilemma.<\/p>\n

\u201cA regime\u2019s survival cannot be staked on a single external partner, especially one that just failed to prevent the most significant single-day offensive the country has suffered since 2012,\u201d analyst Sambe argued.<\/p>\n

There are signs that Mali and its regional allies are diversifying their security partnerships.<\/p>\n

Alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali has formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), initially formed as a political bloc in response to regional sanctions imposed after their respective coups. The AES has, however, evolved into a mutual defense pact.<\/p>\n

The three countries have also expanded defense procurement from countries such as China<\/a> and Turkey<\/a>, signaling a broader search for alternatives.<\/p>\n

Yet options remain limited.<\/p>\n

Russia is still the only partner willing to deploy combat forces directly into frontline operations \u2013 a critical factor for regimes battling insurgencies \u2013 which ties Mali to Moscow, Laessing remarked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, Mali has no option but to work with Russia,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

CNN
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Abuja \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 When Russian forces withdrew last month from the strategic stronghold of Kidal in northern Mali \u2014 retreating under the jeers of the very rebels they were sent to crush \u2014 they surrendered more than just territory. Observers characterize the withdrawal of the Kremlin-backed Africa Corps as a humiliating blow to Moscow\u2019s prestige as<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":909955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[149936,103147],"tags":[149935,11328],"class_list":["post-909954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jeered","category-rebels","tag-jeered","tag-rebels"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}