When Russian forces withdrew last month from the strategic stronghold of Kidal in northern Mali — retreating under the jeers of the very rebels they were sent to crush — they surrendered more than just territory.
Observers characterize the withdrawal of the Kremlin-backed Africa Corps as a humiliating blow to Moscow’s prestige as a leading security partner in Africa’s Sahel region, widely considered the world’s deadliest terror hotspot.
Since militants linked to al Qaeda and the northern separatist Tuareg rebels launched simultaneous attacks on April 25 — the most audacious in over a decade — Mali has plunged deeper into chaos. Their rare alliance enabled a rapid campaign that saw several military bases overrun across northern Mali.
Facing encirclement in the desert town of Kidal, the Africa Corps — now operating under Russia’s Defense Ministry after replacing the Wagner Group — negotiated a safe-passage agreement with militants to evacuate its personnel. The episode underscored growing limits to Moscow’s ability to protect its allies, mirroring recent failures to secure the regimes of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, and the leadership in Iran.
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.
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