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Africa North

On the attempted change of power in Mali

2026-05-01

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited

Text taken from TASS

Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics
[ColonelCassad] My article for TASS about the attempted regime change in Mali.

Units of the Russian Ministry of Defense's African Corps prevented a regime change in Mali, preventing mass civilian casualties. Our troops were forced to provide assistance following the April 25 attack on key cities in the African country by militants from the Azawad Liberation Front and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen

…JNIM…

(which identifies itself as part of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, but is banned in Russia). Despite existing conflicts, the groups have once again united to overthrow the current government in order to ensure the establishment of an Islamic state based on Sharia law in Mali. The authorities are preventing the Tuareg from gaining Azawad (a territory in the northeast of the country), and al-Qaeda militants from establishing a branch of the Caliphate. This situation is also compounded by the geopolitical struggle for spheres of influence in Africa. This makes the traditional war between the government and terrorists merely one dimension of a conflict driven by interests that extend far beyond regional associations and countries.

THE COLLAPSE OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE:
Mali was for decades part of the French colonial, and then neocolonial, empire. After 1960, as classical colonialism crumbled (with the USSR playing a hand in it),

…(indeed, and not a benign one)…

Paris shifted to indirect forms of control over its former possessions. Under this concept, most of the newly liberated countries of French West Africa enjoyed formal sovereignty, but in reality remained completely dependent on Paris for their financial, economic, sociocultural, and military influence. Local elites, primarily educated in the French capital, were also subordinate to the French, and those who attempted to rebel against this order were simply eliminated—as happened with Burkina Faso's President Thomas Sankara. Overall, until the second half of the 2010s, France maintained a stable grip on West Africa, including through the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and UEMOA (Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest-Africaine) alliances. But even then, the situation began to change. Coups took place in these countries under the banner of national liberation from colonial oppression. The new leaders proclaimed ideas of independent national development and demanded the withdrawal of French and NATO troops from their territories. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger also announced the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS) in 2023 and their withdrawal from ECOWAS (which had threatened military intervention in these countries after the coup) in 2024.

While rebuilding ties in Africa after the collapse of the USSR, Moscow began actively influencing France's sphere of influence in the region. Specifically, it established cooperation with the Central African Republic (CAR), Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Russia supported the decolonization processes and sovereign policies of the ACS member countries. Units of the African Corps were deployed on their territory, which, at the request of local authorities, assumed the role of training local military and security forces and also provided military support (similar to the CAR). Former French and American military infrastructure is being used to deploy Russian troops.

Furthermore, China and Turkey are actively supporting these countries militarily (supplying armored vehicles and UAVs).

As a result of these processes, Paris's neocolonial empire in Africa has virtually collapsed. Following the Sahel countries, the French were asked to withdraw from Senegal. Anti-French sentiment also grew in a number of other countries. For example, in Côte d'Ivoire, a military coup was prevented only with the active intervention of Paris. It is important to note that France is using Côte d'Ivoire as a springboard for subversive activities against Burkina Faso.

Overall, the situation for Paris was systematically deteriorating, with President Emmanuel Macron effectively presiding over the collapse of late French colonialism. But Paris was not about to give in without a fight.

A TERRORIST TOOL FOR REVENGE:
Having failed to maintain control over its former colonies, France switched to a covert campaign against uncontrolled governments. In Mali, it relied on supporting Azawad separatists in conjunction with Islamist militants.

If true, that’s incredibly stupid, especially given the Moslem colonization of the home country.

Since 2024, these militants have increasingly launched attacks on civilians and military installations in countries liberated from France. Malian authorities have repeatedly openly accused Paris of supporting Islamic terrorists in the Sahel.

France previously financed the Islamist opposition in Libya and groups in Syria. A Lafarge plant even paid direct taxes to the Islamic State (IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia). The fact that Paris was formally "fighting terrorism" in Mali as part of Operation Serval shouldn't be misleading: the groups the French supposedly opposed have now become a convenient tool for France to exert pressure on the local government. Meanwhile, France until recently dominated the African arms market.

Among other things, militants from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR) were brought in to fight against the Sahel states (and Russian influence), training terrorists in the use of FPV drones and quadcopters to increase their striking power. The alarm bell rang back in 2024: militants intensified attacks in northern and central Mali, disrupting supplies to the civilian population, hoping to provoke mass protests against the government and garner support for a power grab.

Western sponsors of terrorists make no secret of their indifference to the consequences for the country and its population should jihadists come to power and Sharia law be imposed. They also see no problem with Azawad's secession from Mali. The primary objective is to halt the erosion of French influence in Africa and undermine Russia's position. The terrorists here are nothing more than a tool, which the French press is already trying to purify, arguing that those whom the French and NATO forces fought during Operations Barkhane and Serval are not actually that radical. This is being done in case they manage to seize power, which is what they attempted on April 25, 2026, during the offensive on Bomako, Kidal, Gao, and other cities in Mali.

THE AFRIKA KORPS THWARTS THE MILITANTS' PLANS.
Apparently, the plan was for the militants to paralyze the Malian Armed Forces and the Russian Ministry of Defense's Afrika Korps by attacking the country's main centers. This was supposed to replicate the "Syrian scenario" with the collapse of the Syrian Arab Army and Bashar al-Assad's Baathist government at the end of 2024.

But this plan faltered on the very first day, in part due to the resistance of the Russian Armed Forces' Afrika Korps, which inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. In total, over 2,500 militants were killed or wounded during the three days of fighting, accounting for approximately 20% of all radicals participating in the offensive. Most major urban centers remained under the control of the Malian government. Even in Kidal, where the radicals had concentrated their main forces, Russian troops managed to hold the base and strongholds. Only after the Malian government reached an agreement with the militants did our fighters withdraw from their positions in an organized manner.

Despite the militants' training and propaganda in European media, a victory march did not materialize. It also became clear that the local population (especially in southern Mali) was unwilling to submit to Sharia law—dozens of militants who failed to retreat were lynched by angry residents. The militants' strategic plan was thwarted.

However, they show no signs of stopping, declaring their intention to continue attacks toward Gao and even Bomako. They are, of course, being pushed to do this by their sponsors, who hope to defeat Russian forces first and foremost by discrediting Moscow's military aid to governments in Africa.

They don’t seem to have been the decisive factor here as was hoped…

CONSEQUENCES OF THE MILITANT OFFENSIVE
It can be expected that both Azawad separatists and al-Qaeda-linked militants will continue to receive weapons from abroad, particularly through French channels, as well as support from the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate for new operations. We can also predict an increase in the use of various types of drones, particularly for terrorist attacks, and a rise in raids in rural areas aimed at attacking vulnerable strongholds of the Malian army. Moreover, radicals will focus on terrorist attacks in large cities, including those targeting the country's leadership. For example, on April 25, Mali's Defense Minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in a suicide car bombing. Furthermore, a resumption of the fuel blockade of major population centers is likely. Militants will undoubtedly attempt to exploit the resources of the captured territories to replenish their ranks from the local population. A consistent pattern is evident; it is no coincidence that the radicals are being trained by "specialists" arriving from Ukraine.

After the situation stabilizes, the Malian government will undoubtedly need to strengthen the army's resilience to recapture the lost territories. After all, the long-term presence of Kidal in terrorist hands could threaten, among other things, the dismemberment of the country and the actual secession of Azawad, which is aligned with France. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to seek help from Niger and Burkina Faso: terrorism is a threat to the entire region, and especially to countries under the control of governments disloyal to the West. From a broader perspective, the African front is part of the collective West's struggle against Russia. They can't accept that Moscow is restoring and establishing new ties in the region.

Overall, things aren't over yet, of course. We'll likely see renewed attempts to overthrow the government in Bomako once the militants lick their wounds after their losses and, relying on the captured Kidal, try to launch a new offensive. It's best to prepare for this in advance. And the guys from the Afrika Korps did a good job. If it weren't for them, it's far from certain the government would have survived.

P.S. For those who asked why the Afrika Korps press releases end with the slogan "He who dares wins."

The Russian inscription on the helmet on the Afrika Korps shoulder patch reads/translates exactly like the British motto, "He who dares, wins"

Posted by:badanov

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