Tuareg separatists and jihadist militants have seized the strategic Tessalit military base in northern Mali, dealing a significant blow to the junta‑led government and its Russian mercenary allies.
Multiple sources confirm that the Malian army and Wagner Group fighters abandoned the base near the Algerian border without resistance. A security source in Gao, south of the camp, told AFP that “no clashes took place” because regular troops had already withdrawn. An official from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), the Tuareg‑dominated separatist group, said forces at Tessalit were moving southward after the capture.
The takeover follows a coordinated offensive last weekend in which FLA separatists and jihadist rebels struck junta strongholds across the country. The attacks killed at least 23 people, including Defence Minister Sadio Camara, who was killed by a car bomb at his home in Kati, a garrison town near Bamako. During the same wave of violence, militants seized the northern city of Kidal. The Tuareg rebels subsequently declared that they would capture the north and that the junta would “fall.”
Tessalit is a key logistical hub because of its location and a well‑maintained airstrip capable of handling helicopters and larger aircraft. The base previously hosted a sizable contingent of Malian troops, Russian mercenaries, and a substantial cache of military equipment. Its loss represents a major setback for the junta’s ability to project power in the remote north.
The capture comes a day after the al‑Qaida affiliate Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) intensified its blockade of Bamako, the capital. In recent years, Mali, along with neighbouring junta‑run Burkina Faso and Niger, has distanced itself from former colonial power France and deepened security ties with Russia, which has supplied Wagner mercenaries to combat a long‑standing jihadist insurgency.
The three Sahel states have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a joint force that claims a strength of about 15,000 soldiers. Niger’s government announced on Thursday that the alliance had conducted “intense air campaigns” in response to the Saturday attacks in Mali. The coordinated assaults of last weekend constitute the most extensive offensive in Mali in nearly 15 years.
The fall of Tessalit underscores the accelerating fragmentation of authority in Mali and the growing influence of armed groups in the north. The junta’s capacity to retain control over the region, as well as the potential for further Russian involvement, will shape the security dynamics of the Sahel in the coming weeks.
