On April 25, the Azawad Liberation Front and the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim) launched an offensive against several Malian towns. In the north of the country, the town of Kidal was recaptured after three years of Russian and Malian presence. Verified images allow us to recount these two days of tension.

Published on: 04/26/2026 - 10:32 p.m. Modified on: 04/27/2026 - 3:39 p.m.

Two and a half years later, the flag of Azawad – a name of Tuareg origin designating the region of northern Mali claimed by the separatists of the FLA (Azawad Liberation Front) – flies again over the town of Kidal.

In November 2023, the Malian army captured the city alongside Wagner's Russian mercenaries, now Africa Corps. On April 25, the secessionists planted their flag in the central square of the city, over which they claim control.

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It was six in the morning when the assault began. In total, seven Malian towns find themselves under fire. In Kidal and Gao, it is a coalition made up of the FLA and the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jnim), considered the Sahelian subsidiary of Al-Qaeda, which is leading the fighting.

A morning of fighting around Kidal

Contacted by the France 24 Observers editorial staff, an FLA commander asserts that the checkpoints located at the entrance to the city would have been taken in the first hour of combat. According to this Tuareg rebel native of the region, the town fell under the control of the coalition at the beginning of the afternoon.

Around noon, a video shows vehicles belonging to the Jnim or the FLA circulating freely in front of a military camp located north of Kidal. A Starlink receiver attached to the hood of the car, the armed men pass without stopping in front of the building.

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In the city, the fighting is concentrated around the police station, where soldiers of the Malian Armed Forces are holed up. The building was taken over around 2 p.m.

Symbolic places and captured prisoners

Another symbolic capture: the governorate of Kidal also fell into the hands of the separatists. It is here that General El Hadj Ag Gamou, in charge of the region, established his administration at the time of the return of the Malian junta in 2023. Head of the Tuareg self-defense group Imghad and allies (Gatia), this Touareg remained loyal to the Malian junta.

Late in the afternoon, a pro-FLA account published a video showing separatists raising their flag to the top of the building.

The FLA and Jnim also claim to have taken Malian army soldiers prisoner.

South of the town of Kidal, the former UN base, a nerve center

Located to the south of the city, the former camp of the UN mission in Mali (Minusma) served as a stronghold. Surrounded and entrenched in their base, the Russian mercenaries of the Africa Corps were reportedly targeted by drones as well as mortar fire from the FLA.

In order to organize their evacuation, negotiations between the FLA and the Russians took place on April 25, according to the independence source consulted by the Observers editorial staff. It was therefore the next day, this Sunday, around 4 or 5 p.m., that the Russian troops were evacuated from the former UN base.

But Africa Corps mercenaries also reportedly resisted on the outskirts of Kidal until the evening of April 25. According to our FLA source, the mercenaries and Malian soldiers, holed up in a turret and armed with precision rifles, were finally evacuated to the Minusma camp the next day.

The departure of Russian mercenaries from Kidal

At 5 p.m., the Tuareg commander said that the separatists had just taken control of the exit points from the camp. According to him, the Russian mercenaries burned several installations and vehicles before their departure.

A video geolocated by the Observers editorial team shows a column of vehicles belonging to the Russian mercenaries of Africa Corps and the Malian army leaving the Minusma base and heading north. However, it is impossible to determine the place of withdrawal of the troops stationed in Kidal.

The Russian column in full retreat is made up of heavy weapons. Among the devices, there are several BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, as well as artillery cannons towed by trucks.

After a day of clashes, the number of dead and injured remains unknown. Although videos showing the bodies of Malian soldiers were filmed on April 25 in Kidal, none of the groups engaged in the fighting clearly communicated their losses. For their part, the Malian Armed Forces affirm "that the hunt for armed terrorist groups continues in Kidal, Kati and other localities in the country."

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