Russia’s Africa Corps describes Mali attacks as coup attempt, blames West

Africa Corps, a Russian paramilitary group, has described the coordinated terror attacks across Mali on Saturday as a coup attempt supported by “Western intelligence services.”

PREMIUM TIMES reported that many locations including Bamako, the country’s capital, were hit by fighters of the al-Qaeda franchise in the Sahel, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).

Both groups issued statements acknowledging the attacks, with FLA advising Russia to “reconsider” its alliance with the junta-led government.

The Africa Corps, in a statement written in French on X, said about 10,000 to 12,000 armed men attempted to “seize key facilities in the capital, particularly the presidential palace.”

The group also accused Ukrainian and European forces in Africa of aiding the attacks.

“In the areas of the cities of Kidal and Gao, Ukrainian and European mercenaries operating in Africa participated in attacks against state facilities and units of government forces, using portable Western-origin surface-to-air missiles,” it stated.

PREMIUM TIMES understands that Africa is increasingly emerging as a theatre for proxy conflicts among rival global powers, with the Russia–Ukraine rivalry extending into Mali.

While there is no evidence of Ukrainian forces presence in Mali, it was reported that Ukraine intelligence aided a 2024 attack against the now-disbanded and restructured Wagner Group.

Also, the claim that European forces aided the Saturday attack remains unproven. As of 2024, major European military forces have pulled out from Mali. On 17 May 2024, the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Mali, said it ended its 11-year presence in the francophone country, noting its contingent in Mali will be redeployed to Europe.

Two years earlier, Takuba, an EU combat-focused special forces mission launched in 2020 exited Mali after relations with the military junta collapsed amid tensions over governance and Bamako’s growing partnership with the Wagner Group.

Both Ukrainian and European authorities have not reacted to the allegations the Africa Corps made against them. However, the European Union, in a statement, condemned the attack, offering “sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Malian authorities” and expressing “full solidarity with the Malian people.” It said it remains committed to “the fight against terrorism” and to promoting “peace, security, and stability in Mali and throughout the Sahel.”

The Russian mercenary group said it maintained all key positions and airfields, including national assets in the city of Kati, a garrison town [about 15 kilometers from Bamako] where Mali’s defence minister, Sadio Camara, was killed in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) assault that targeted his residence.

It added that it killed more than 1,000 terrorists during the attacks on Saturday. The group, however, acknowledged that the “situation in Mali remains difficult,” adding that some soldiers of the African Corps sustained injuries and … are “being evacuated.”