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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
At the beginning of October, the Russian "African Corps" together with the Malian army, which is under the local military junta, claimed a “victory” over the Tuareg forces in the region and the capture of a critically important city for the rebels – Kidal.
The authorities in Bamako said that Malian troops carried out a “massive air and ground operation” around Kidal. However, Tuareg representatives said the forces withdrew under controlled conditions, with no direct clashes between the sides.
24 The channel analyzed why Kidal is so important to the Tuareg and whether the city’s capture is really a strategic victory for Russia in Africa.
How exactly the Russians managed to capture Kidal
In the morning 6 October, a Malian army column, with the support of Russian mercenaries from the "African Corps" (these are the former Wagner fighters who stopped pretending they are not Russian troops under official Moscow, but a private military company), left the military base in the town of Anefis and headed toward Kidal.
Having traversed 95 kilometers of desert, by the afternoon the Malian army announced that it had taken the city under control and secured positions. In a separate statement, the General Staff in Bamako said that during air and ground operations they neutralized several terrorists and destroyed transport means and logistics depots.
The aim of these actions was allegedly to ensure security in border regions and to neutralize the influence of armed groups – the "Front for the Liberation of Azawad" (FLA) and the JNIM ("Organization for the Support of Islam and Muslims" – 24 Channel), the regional branch of "Al-Qaeda".
But when Malian troops, along with the Russians, entered the city, they did not find a single living soul.
"We did not meet any resistance. We prepared the ground in advance, shelling the opponent’s positions and gradually weakening their grip," said a Malian army general staff officer, quoted by AFP.
A photo of Russian "African Corps" soldiers at a fortress in Kidal / Photo – Russian Defense Ministry
As Muhammad Almaoulod Ramadan, spokesperson for the FLA, told the Financial Times, Tuareg rebels left Kidal along with all their equipment and weapons without direct clashes with the Russian-Malian convoy.
Why the Front for the Liberation of Azawad surrendered the city without a fight
One of the main reasons is the Russians’ and Malian government forces’ air superiority. Active use of Russian aircraft and drones like the Geran-2 and Harmful-1A (Garpia-1A), which Moscow uses to attack Ukrainian cities, effectively neutralized any chance for Tuareg defenses in Kidal.
The retreat from the city is also linked to possible internal conflict between the JNIM and the FLA. Differences over the importance of maintaining control over Kidal could have arisen from the organizations’ different tactics – if Islamists use rapid attack and swift retreat, the "Front for the Liberation of Azawad" tends to retain control over towns.
A third party could have influenced the Tuareg decision to leave the city – Algeria. This Arab country (which is also friendly to Russia) has long sought to expand its influence in the Sahel region by supporting various regional rebel groups and organizations.
Seeking to improve relations with Mali and play the role of regional mediator, Algeria urged the rebels to surrender the city. Although representatives of the Front for the Liberation of Azawad denied Algerian involvement, experts note that such a scenario is possible.
Not the first losses and not the last capture: the history of the battles for the city
Over the past 14 years Kidal has been a center of confrontation between the Malian army and the Tuareg. In 2012 the rebels managed to capture the city and a military base near it in the northeast of the country within 48 hours, take control of Gao and Timbuktu, and declare a new state – Azawad – on the controlled territories.
However, independence proved short-lived. Within a few months Islamist groups with which the Tuareg cooperated at the start of the uprising intensified and expelled MNLA ("National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad" – 24 Channel) from the region’s main cities.
In January 2013, then-pro-Western government of Mali asked for help from France. During Operation Serval, French forces retook the city, but in truth Kidal was in a "gray zone" moving between the hands of the French, Tuareg, and Islamists.
An attempt to resolve the conflict peacefully was the Algerian peace agreement 2015 of the year, which on paper granted the north broader rights. In practice Kidal remained under Tuareg groups’ control, united in a coalition, and order was maintained by French troops and UN peacekeepers.
During a series of coups that took place in the country since 2020, a junta and pro-Russian government came to power in Mali. In autumn 2023 a new government expelled peacekeepers from the country, and at the same time mercenaries from Russia’s "Wagner" appeared in Kidal. The Russians openly demonstrated their presence in the city, which was accompanied by terror against the local population, atrocities, repression, and war crimes.
Latest French troops depart Mali / Photo – Etat Major des Armées / AFP
Since then, the conflict has only intensified. In January 2024 Bamako officially terminated the Algerian agreement, finally closing the peaceful channel. In the summer of the same year, near the town of Tinzawatene, close to Kidal, Tuareg and jihadist groups with whom the former had made a temporary arrangement, set up an ambush in which dozens of Malian soldiers and Russians were killed.
Tuareg rebels belonging to the "Front for the Liberation of Azawad" ride in Kidal on pickup trucks, 25 April 2026 / Photo – AFP
The following year, as a result of a rebranding, instead of "Wagner" an "African Corps" appeared in the country, and during intensive clashes between the Russians and Tuareg in April 2026 Kidal again shifted to the rebels. The Front for the Liberation of Azawad together with jihadist JNIM captured the city during coordinated attacks and held it for almost 6 months.
Why the Tuaregs fight so hard for Kidal
The Tuaregs are one of the largest nomadic peoples of the Sahara, who speak the Tamashak language and have lived for centuries in the territories of present-day Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, and Burkina Faso.
After these countries gained independence in the 1960-s, their lands were divided by state borders, and in Mali the Tuaregs found themselves a minority: the northern part of the country, which they call Azawad, remained poor and remote, and the government in Bamako, far to the south, was perceived as foreign.
Although on the map Kidal appears as a small desert place on the edge of the Sahara, for all sides involved in the conflict its significance is much greater.
For the Tuaregs, it is primarily a symbol. Kidal is named as one of the centers of Tuareg nationalism: in all four uprisings against the Malian state (1962 – 1964, 1990 – 1995, 2007 – 2009 and 2012 years) the city played a central role. Here the political power of clan leaders is concentrated, who have long been regarded among the Tuaregs as leaders.
It was in Kidal, in October 2011 year, that the rebel leaders gathered to decide on the strategy of a new uprising.
Tuareg Front for the Liberation of Azawad fighters in the strategically important city of Kidal / Photo – AFP
A second factor concerns geography and money. Kidal region runs along more than half of the border between Algeria and Mali, i.e., it lies on the ancient trans-Saharan route. Hundreds of years ago slaves and spices were transported through it; today these routes are used for smuggling drugs, weapons, and irregular migrants. The customs collected on these routes is the main source of funding for those who control them.
Finally, for the Malian junta in Bamako and for Moscow, Kidal became a matter of reputation. The Malian army had long been unable to control this city, so its return in 2023 year was presented as a historic victory, while the loss of the city in 2026 was perceived as one of the most painful humiliations.
The city’s return is also an opportunity for the Russians from the "African Corps" to again present themselves as guarantors of security for the Malian government after the loss of significant positions in April and summer.
A true victory for the Russians in Africa or its mirage
At first glance, the return of Kidal looks like an unequivocal success for Bamako and Moscow: after a series of defeats, the junta finally showed it could control the north.
But the capture of the city is more of a "symbolic" victory than a "decisive" one in the campaign against the rebels. The Front for the Liberation of Azawad explains the withdrawal as a desire to preserve the lives of fighters and calls it a temporary step. That is, the rebels did not disappear or dissolve into the desert; they withdrew. They kept their equipment, weapons, and the ability to return to fighting with renewed forces. As the chorus of the Tuareg rock band Tinariwen goes: "I know how to walk and wander toward the setting sun in the desert, flat and empty, where there is nothing."
To this is added a broader picture. After 2024 the JNIM opened a new front aimed at isolating Bamako and other western and southern cities from economic centers and supply lines. So, even controlling Kidal, the junta does not control the roads that must be traversed to reach it. And this makes the city a suitcase with no handle for the occupiers.
Ukraine will help the Tuaregs
Ukrainian specialists could help the Tuareg regain control around Kidal; they had already trained the rebels to use drones in 2024 and, with their help, effectively fight against the Russian military machine.
According to the French publication Le Monde, thanks to Ukraine’s help the Front for the Liberation of Azawad together with JNIM inflicted the heaviest losses on Russian mercenaries near the town of Tinzawatene.
This was the biggest defeat for the Russian "African Corps" since its arrival in Mali at the invitation of the local junta in 2021 year. A representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), Andriy Yusov, said that the rebels "obtained the necessary information, and not only information that allowed them to carry out a successful military operation against Russian war criminals."
Mali, and behind it Niger, whose government is also supported by the Russians, broke off diplomatic relations with Kyiv, accusing it of supporting "terrorist groups." Kyiv replied that this decision was "short-sighted and hasty" and rejected the accusations of supporting international terrorism.
A photo of Ukrainian soldiers, published on the Day of Military Intelligence by the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Kyrylo Budanov. Notably, the soldiers in the background are wearing the traditional headgear of the Tuaregs / Photo – Kyrylo Budanov via Telegram
According to CNN, about fifteen Ukrainian drone specialists work with the FLA in northern Mali. The Ukrainians there are not fighting on the front line but training fighters and helping organize operations. One Ukrainian UAV operator claimed his unit helped the rebels during the battles for Kidal.
The "African Corps", which grew out of "Wagner" after Prigozhin’s death, has become an important instrument of Moscow’s influence in the region, and support for forces fighting against Russia in Africa gives Ukraine another way to pressure the Kremlin beyond its own borders. Moreover, researchers estimate that the "African Corps" exploits Mali’s natural resources and kills civilians in areas where the FLA and JNIM operate. In other words, Ukraine finds itself on the side of those who oppose Russia’s presence, which has already cost Mali dearly.
The desert rulers left Kidal, but not Azawad / photo – Getty Images
Kidal has changed hands before, and is unlikely to be the last time. For Bamako and the "African Corps" the city’s return is a needed propaganda victory after the April retreat, but it does not solve the substance: the rebels kept their strength and equipment, and the roads needed to supply the city are controlled by JNIM.
Moscow’s this "victory" costs a lot: the junta pays the "African Corps" about ten million dollars a month, yet the security it promised remains elusive.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "За Кідаль відповісте: чому Росія та хунта Малі зарано святкують перемогу над туарегами". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
