Tuareg rebels fighting the Malian army announced an agreement on Sunday allowing Russian Africa Corps forces to withdraw from Kidal, leaving the northern city "completely" under their control. Jihadist fighters in coordination with the Tuareg rebels killed the junta's Defense Minister, General Sadio Camara, with a car bomb near the capital, Bamako, as confirmed this Sunday by his family and military sources.

First modification: 04/26/2026 - 15:22 Last modification: 04/26/2026 - 15:28

Fresh fighting broke out on Sunday in the key Malian city of Kidal between Tuareg rebels, backed by jihadists, and government forces backed by Russian mercenaries, a day after insurgents launched coordinated attacks across the Sahel nation.

"An agreement has been reached that allows the (Malian) army and its allies from the (Russian) Africa Corps to leave Camp 2, where they have been entrenched since yesterday," a Tuareg official told AFP.

A Kidal resident told AFP: "We saw a military convoy leave, but we don't know the details of what is happening... Fighters from the armed movements have now taken to the streets."

The Africa Corps, an organization under direct control of the Russian defense ministry, took over much of the Wagner group's African operations after the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in 2023.

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The group has been helping Mali's junta combat jihadists in the West African nation. Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold, was recaptured in November 2023 by the Malian army with the support of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, ending more than a decade of rebel control. The FLA also claims to have taken up positions in the northern Gao region.

"The goal of the attackers was not to take and control cities, but to carry out coordinated actions to capture at least Kidal, which is a quite powerful symbol," a security source told AFP this Sunday.

Defense Minister killed in attack near Bamako

Jihadist fighters killed the Minister of Defense of the Malian junta, General Sadio Camara, with a car bomb placed in front of his residence near the capital, Bamako, his family and government and military sources reported this Sunday.

The attack came on Saturday, as jihadist and rebel groups launched coordinated attacks across the African nation, including the junta's stronghold of Kati, near the capital. Camara and other junta leaders live in Kati.

A relative, on condition of anonymity, said the minister and at least three members of his family were killed by the car bomb left by an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.

Fighting also broke out Sunday in Kati, according to residents. One resident said fighting had resumed "everywhere" in the garrison town and that "jihadists are on a hill" above Kati. Another resident mentioned that planes were flying over the city.

Mali has been devastated for more than a decade by conflict and jihadist violence, but Saturday's attacks were the worst since 2020, when the junta seized power. These took place on the outskirts of the capital, Bamako, and in several cities in the vast Sahel country.

Residents in suspense

The fighting left 16 civilians and soldiers injured and caused "limited material damage," the government said in a statement late Saturday. He added that "the situation is completely under control in all the towns" that were attacked.

In Bamako, soldiers were stationed Sunday morning around a clinic where Defense Minister Sadio Camara was admitted the day before, according to a medical source and witnesses. According to residents, the minister's residence in Kati was largely destroyed by a powerful explosion. Camara's aides denied that he was injured.

In the capital, access to military installations has been blocked with barriers and tires, an AFP journalist reported. In the peripheral district of Senou, where the airport is located and where there was heavy fighting on Saturday, the atmosphere was nervous.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned "acts of violence" in Mali and called for coordinated international support to address the threat of violent extremism in the Sahel.

Mali has resources that include gold and other valuable minerals. Its rulers, like their military counterparts in Niger and Burkina Faso, have severed ties with former colonial power France and several Western countries, moving closer to Russia.

This article is an adaptation of its original in English

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