Mali: Tuareg rebels claim responsibility for attack on army

Mali’s fight against Tuareg separatists has been undermined once again as rebels claim responsibility for an attack against the military and its Russian auxiliaries, according to RFI and agencies on March 5th.

The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a Tuareg separatist group, claimed responsibility for an attack on a patrol of the Malian army and its Russian Africa Corps on March 4th in the Adgar-Takalot area, south of Kidal.

Kidal is situated in northern Mali, which borders Algeria, and was a Tuareg stronghold that Malian forces recaptured in 2023.

Tuareg separatists seek to establish sovereignty for the northern Mali region, which they call Azawad.

Reportedly, the Tuareg separatist organisations receive support, such as kamikaze drones, from Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia.

An indigenous Berber group, the Tuareg rebels have waged war against Malian forces since their uprising in 2012, the latest rebellion they have staged in their quest for independence and autonomy in Azawad.

News of this attack comes within weeks of an FLA kamikaze drone strike against Malian and Russian forces on February 18th between Kidal’s Anefis and Aguelhoc, killing fighters on both sides.

Mali’s internal strife is not limited to fighting separatists, as the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has imposed a fuel blockade since September 2025.

JNIM’s blockade has been highly effective at destabilising the junta-led country due to Mali’s landlocked status and reliance on fuel imports from neighbouring countries, such as Niger.

Amid internal conflict and the rise of Islamist terrorism in the Sahel, Mali’s junta has increasingly turned to Russia in an effort to maintain stability, usually in exchange for access to natural resources, such as gold.

The presence of Russian mercenaries is controversial, with Malian refugees accusing the Russian Africa Corps of perpetrating beheadings and sexual violence against civilians.

On February 7th, it was reported that the Collective for the Defence of the Rights of the People of Azawad (CD-DPA) had accused the Malian military and Russian mercenaries of perpetrating human rights abuses in northern and central Mali.

Russia’s influence is not limited to Mali, as Niger and Burkina Faso’s juntas have also cut ties with Western powers in favour of a Russia-Sahel alliance.

In its fight against separatists and jihadist insurgencies, the Malian army and its Russian allies have been accused of human rights abuses, although Russia vetoed UN sanctions against Mali in 2023.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org