Mali’s crisis deepened on Tuesday, a day after Russian paramilitaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal, allowing jihadist and Tuareg rebel forces to seize the strategic stronghold. The withdrawal came after coordinated attacks across the country killed Mali’s defence minister and struck targets near the capital, with a senior Malian official telling RFI that Russian forces had “betrayed” Bamako.
Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga has sought to reassure Malians after Saturday’s large-scale offensive by jihadist fighters from JNIM, an al Qaeda-linked group, and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA.
