Mali Militants Demand Russian Withdrawal, Get Airstrikes (Videos)

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A spokesman for separatist Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) told APF on April 29 that the military government of Mali “will fall,” and called on Russia to withdraw from the Sahel country.

The FLA launched a large-scale offensive across Mali last week in cooperation with al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM). The capital, Bamako, in addition to the key cities of Sevare, Gao, and Kidal all came under attack within a few hours of the start of the offensive on April 25.

Kidal fell into the hands of the FLA relatively quickly. The city served as an unofficial headquarters of the separatist group for more than a decade before it was captured by the Malian military with Russian support more than two years ago.

“The regime will fall, sooner or later,” FLA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told AFP during a visit to the French capital, Paris, adding that the militants intend to take control of Gao, Timbuktu and Menaka following the capture of Kidal.

Ramadane said that the group’s “objective is for Russia to withdraw permanently from Azawad and beyond, from all of Mali”.

“We have no particular problem with Russia, nor with any other country. Our problem is with the regime that governs Bamako,” he added.

Just a day earlier, JNIM boasted about the offensive and described it as revenge for drone strikes and other attacks perpetrated by the Malian military.

The group’s spokesperson, Bina Diarra, also threatened to implement a siege of Bamako, a city of more than four million people.

“As of today, Bamako is closed off from all sides,” he said in the message.

The leader of Mali’s military government, Gen. Assimi Goita, made his first public appearance since militants launched the offensive over the weekend, vowing in a televised address on APril 28 to “neutralise” those responsible.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the same day that jihadi and separatist forces in Mali were regrouping after the African Corps helped thwart what it described as a coup attempt, preventing militants from seizing key facilities including the presidential palace.

While recent remarks by FLA and JNIM spokesmen reflect a high level of confidence, the situation on the ground is still not completely in favor of the two groups.

Several waves of strikes hit FLA militants in Kidal on April 29, indicating that a counteroffensive could begin in coming days.

Malian and Russian forces also conducted a patrol in Menaka and its outskirts, although the city is reported to be semi-besited.

Under the leadership of Goita, who rose to power after two consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali moved away from France, and built strong relations with both Russia and Turkey. The military government has been also pursuing closer ties with the United States.

The fall of the military government could destabilize Mali in the long term. JNIM seeks to replace established state authority with a conservative interpretation of Islamic law, while the FLA was founded by several Tuareg movements based on its demands for the independence or autonomy of Azawad. The alliance between the two will not likely hold up for long.

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