The city of Kidal in northern Mali witnessed new confrontations on Sunday between Tuareg rebels allied with Al-Qaeda and government forces supported by Russian mercenaries, according to Tuareg sources and a local politician. Later, the rebels announced that they had reached an "agreement" stipulating the withdrawal of Russian soldiers belonging to the "Africa Corps" from the city, which they said they now controlled "completely." Mali's Defense Minister, General Sadio Camara, was also killed on Saturday in an attack by the "Insulting Islam and Muslims" group on his home in Kati, near Bamako, according to his family, a government source, and military personnel.
Published on: 04/26/2026 - 12:01 Last updated: 04/26/2026 - 14:37
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After new confrontations broke out on Sunday in the city of Kidal (northern Mali) between the Malian army supported by Russian mercenaries and Tuareg rebels under the banner of Al-Qaeda, the rebels announced that they had reached an "agreement" stipulating the withdrawal of Russian soldiers affiliated with the "Africa Corps" from the city, stressing that they now control it "completely."
The French news agency quoted a rebel leader as saying: “An agreement has been reached that allows the army and its allies in the Africa Corps to leave Camp No. 2, where they have been holed up since yesterday.”
A Kidal resident said: “We saw a military convoy leaving, but we do not know the details of the situation... It is the fighters of the armed movements who are deployed in the streets now.”
Malian Defense Minister General Sadio Camara, his second wife, and two of his children were killed on Saturday in an attack by the “Insulting Islam and Muslims” group on his home in Kati, near Bamako, according to what his family, a government source, and military personnel announced.
“In the Kati attack, Minister Kamara was killed along with his second wife and two young children,” a Kamara family member said. A government source confirmed, "We have lost a very dear person, the Minister of Defense. He fell on the field of honor."
On Saturday, Camara's house (47 years old) was targeted by a car bomb explosion, during a coordinated attack between the "Support for Islam and Muslims" group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Tuareg rebels from the Front for the Liberation of Azawad on targets near Bamako and in a number of major cities.
The Front for the Liberation of Azawad, which seeks to establish a state in the Azawad region in northern Mali, said on Saturday that it was in control of Kidal after battles in the city, which is one of the cities targeted by coordinated attacks by Tuareg rebels and the “Support for Islam and Muslims” group linked to Al-Qaeda.
"Removing the last Russian fighters"
Mohamed Ramadan, a spokesman for the Tuareg rebels, said, “Fighting resumed in Kidal this morning. We are seeking to remove the last Russian fighters who have taken refuge in a camp.”
In turn, a local official confirmed this information, saying, “Today, Sunday, clashes resumed in Kidal between the Malian army, the Russians, and the (Tuareg) rebels. Residents heard the sound of gunfire. There is gunfire.”
It is noteworthy that the Malian army, with the support of Russian Wagner Group fighters, regained the city of Kidal, the stronghold of the Tuareg rebellion, in November 2023, ending more than a decade of rebel control.
For its part, the Front for the Liberation of Azawad announced that it had taken control of several sites in the Gao region in the north of the country as well.
France 24/AFP
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