Mali defense minister killed; Russia's Africa Corps withdraws from rebel-held town

Prefer on Google by Lucy Pakhnyuk Colonel Sadio Camara, Mali's Minister of Defense and Veterans (left), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (center), and Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (right), enter a hall ahead of a meeting in Moscow on Feb. 28, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Mali's defense minister, Sadio Camara, who had close ties to Russia, was killed in an insurgent attack on his home near the capital, Bamako, a government spokesperson said April 26, as Russian forces withdrew from a northern town after clashes with rebels. Camara was killed April 25 when assailants targeted his residence, the spokesperson said on state television the following day. According to Reuters , an affiliate of al Qaeda in West Africa claimed responsibility for the attack. Camara had connections to Russia and the Wagner Group , the private military company whose Africa operations were later absorbed into the Africa Corps under Russia's defense ministry. The Africa Corps has played a central role in supporting Mali's ruling junta. The minister's death coincided with the withdrawal of Russia's Africa Corps from the northern city of Kidal after two days of clashes, France24 reported. The separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said it had reached an agreement allowing Malian forces and their Russian allies to pull back. "An accord has been reached permitting the (Malian) army and its (Russian) Africa Corps allies to leave the camp 2, where they were holed up since yesterday," a FLA representative told Agence France-Presse, adding that the town was now "totally" under rebel control. Russia's embassy in Bamako said in a social media post that it strongly condemned the "cowardly" attacks. "Efforts to eliminate the armed groups are continuing, and preliminary information suggests that Western security forces may have been involved in their training," Russia's foreign ministry said in a separate statement. Russia's influence in Mali has expanded significantly since the military seized power in 2021, displacing traditional Western partners such as France. The Africa Corps, now directly controlled by Russia's defense ministry, took over operations previously run by Wagner following the 2023 death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. In 2024, Mali severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine , accusing Kyiv of supporting Tuareg-led rebel groups after reports that Malian troops and Wagner mercenaries suffered heavy losses in clashes with anti-government fighters. The Malian government did not provide evidence to support the allegations, while Ukrainian officials said Russia influenced Bamako's decision.