Malian troops backed by Russian forces have retaken the northern separatist stronghold of Kidal, the government has announced, reversing the loss of the strategic town during a coordinated rebel and jihadist offensive in April.
The transitional authorities said troops consolidated their positions in the regional capital on Tuesday following intensive air and ground operations. Their return would enable the gradual restoration of public administration and basic services, according to the government statement.
The Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) acknowledged leaving Kidal and claimed there had been “disproportionate” airstrikes by Mali’s military and the Russian Defense Ministry-run Africa Corps. Its spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, described the move as a “controlled withdrawal” to preserve personnel and equipment, saying its forces had pulled out without direct combat and that the retreat was temporary.
Kidal has long been a center of separatist demands for an independent state in northern Mali. Malian troops and fighters from the Russian private military company Wagner recaptured it in November 2023, before losing control following a nationwide offensive in April by the FLA and the Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) that also killed Defense Minister Sadio Camara.
The West African nation has been gripped since 2012 by a jihadist insurgency that has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger despite years of French military intervention. Nearly 49,000 people have been killed in violence linked to militant Islamist groups across the Sahel since 2022, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies said in August.
Bamako and its Sahel allies have accused foreign powers of supporting the armed groups. Addressing the UN General Assembly on September 28, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop accused Ukraine of aiding jihadists and separatists, citing coordinated attacks in April and July. Mali severed diplomatic ties with Kiev in August 2024 after Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said rebels received information enabling an ambush on Malian and Wagner forces.
Last month, CNN reported that about 15 Ukrainian specialists were assisting the FLA with drone training and operations, citing Ukrainian personnel. Kiev has rejected allegations that it supports terrorist groups in the Sahel.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have also accused France of supporting terrorist groups in the Sahel. All three former French colonies have ended defense cooperation with Paris and strengthened security ties with Moscow. Personnel from the Africa Corps, which replaced Wagner in Mali by 2025, have since supported Malian troops in operations against jihadists and separatist armed groups.
In July, the joint forces recaptured Anefis, a strategic town about 100 km south of Kidal, after more than a week of fighting. Mali’s military said operations there and in two nearby localities killed nearly 100 militants and destroyed 12 combat vehicles.