Wagner to withdraw from Mali after 'completing mission'

Mali has been grappling with a militant Islamist insurgency for more than a decade.
Following accusations that the government had been failing to deal with this insecurity, the military seized power a few years ago.
French troops, which were originally deployed to help the civilian government, left the country in 2022. By then, the junta in charge of Mali had already begun working with the Russian mercenaries to combat the insurgents.
There has been a resurgence in jihadist attacks on military bases in the Sahel state in recent weeks.
Last Sunday, an al-Qaeda linked group said it had carried out a major attack on the town of Boulikessi and the army base there.
More than 30 soldiers were killed, according to sources quoted by the news agency Reuters.
Then on Monday, the same group - Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) - said it targeted the military in the historic city of Timbuktu, with residents reporting hearing gunfire and explosions.
Insurgents also attacked an army post in the village of Mahou in the southeastern Sikasso region, killing five.
Locals told the news agency AFP that soldiers withdrew from the Boulkessi base on after a new assault on Thursday led to multiple deaths.
A military source said the departure was "strategic" and "at the request of the hierarchy", the news agency reported.
The increased assaults in the Sahel region have raised concerns about the efficacy of Wagner in the region.
Although the paramilitary group has announced its exit from Mali, Russian forces will still play an active role in the country's security landscape.
Fighters from Africa Corps - a rival Russian mercenary force intended to absorb Wagner's activities on the continent - will remain in Mali.
Russia has an increasing military, political and economic influence in West and Central Africa.
Friday's announcement did not state whether Wagner would be leaving the Central African Republic, where its African headquarters are located.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

41 minutes ago

• BBC News

Niger military leaders to nationalise uranium firm Somaïr

Niger's military junta says it will nationalise the majority French-owned local uranium company in the latest escalation in a row between the two is operated by French nuclear fuels company Orano, which Niger accuses of several "irresponsible acts". Since seizing power in 2023, Niger's military leaders have said they want to keep more local control of the country's mineral wealth, and have distanced themselves from France, the former colonial power, moving closer to is the world's seventh largest producer of uranium and has the highest-grade ores in Africa. "This nationalisation will allow for healthier and more sustainable management of the company and, consequently, optimal enjoyment of the wealth from mining resources by Nigeriens," the junta said in a statement. Orano has not yet company, which has operated in Niger for decades, owns a 63% stake in Somaïr but last year the military authorities seized operational control of the to the Reuters news agency, Orano, which is owned by the French state, has launched legal action against Niger over its a uranium mine became a pawn in the row between Niger and FranceNiger achieved independence from France in 1960 and the former colonial power managed to secure exclusive access to Niger's uranium supply through various say this was seen by many in Niger as a symbol of the country's continued domination by they also note that any uncertainty over the mining sector's future could threaten hundreds of jobs, as well as export earnings. You may also be interested in: WATCH: How has Niger changed since the coup?'France takes us for idiots' - Inside coup-hit NigerIs France to blame for coups in West Africa?Why young Africans are celebrating military takeovers Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

The Independent

3 hours ago

• The Independent

Armed men in western Niger kill 34 soldiers and wound 14, authorities say

Armed men killed 34 soldiers and wounded 14 others in western Niger near the tri-state border with Mali and Burkina Faso, the defense ministry said. The attack was carred out around 9 a.m. Thursday in Banibangou by attackers using eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes, the ministry said in a statement. The government said its forces killed dozens of attackers it called 'terrorists,' adding that search operations by land and air were being conduted to find additional assailants. Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in the three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia's mercenary units for security assistance. The three countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel States. But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed by Islamic militants and government forces.

Telegraph

2 days ago

• Telegraph

Putin under pressure to declare war on Ukraine

When Ukraine smuggled dozens of drones into the back of freight trucks and launched a surprise attack on Vladimir Putin's prized nuclear bombers, Russia's most radical voices were furious. 'Shock and outrage' is how one high-ranking Russian official described the mood in the Kremlin the day after the strike. Another Russian official told The Telegraph: 'Like every thinking patriot, I took it as a personal tragedy.' The fury ran so deep in some quarters that there were renewed calls for Putin to 'declare war' on Ukraine – a demand that may seem baffling to Western observers, given that the conflict is already Europe's bloodiest since the Second World War. But amongst Russia's hardline nationalist elite, there is growing belief that Putin has not gone far enough, that he should formally declare war, recruit a million more men, and wipe out Volodymyr Zelensky's government with daily missile strikes on Kyiv. The Telegraph spoke to Kremlin insiders to assess whether Ukraine's drone attack – dubbed Operation Spider Web – might push Russia to escalate even further. All agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. 'Explosions, drones, sabotage, and possibly even terrorist attacks are what the future may hold for us if the Zelensky regime is not completely destroyed,' said a current high-ranking Russian government official. He described himself as hawkish and admitted sympathising with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner warlord who led a failed mutiny against Putin in June 2023 and was later killed in a plane crash. 'If Ukraine ceases to exist in its current form, the criminal underground will be demoralised,' he claimed. Yet despite the scale of Ukraine's strike, which damaged at least 20 Russian nuclear bombers, according to US estimates, the Kremlin has so far stuck to a more cautious approach. 'This did not catalyse a political discussion or a change in the format of military operations,' said a former senior Kremlin official who once directed operations against Ukraine. 'In the Russian power system, where inertia and preserving the current balance are essential, that speaks volumes.' Another source, based in an analytical centre close to Russia's defence ministry was blunt: 'Could the president declare war on Kyiv? Right now, unlikely. As cynical as it may sound, the leadership is satisfied with the current situation.' The hawkish opposition Traditionally, opposition to Putin has come from liberal critics. But since the invasion, a new breed of nationalist opposition has emerged – figures who claim the Russian president is too cautious. The roots of this anger go back to 2014, when some hardliners accused Putin of failing to fully support Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. One of the most prominent is Igor Girkin – also known as Strelkov – a former FSB officer and leading figure in the 'Angry Patriots', a faction demanding Ukraine's total destruction. After criticising Russia's handling of the war, Girkin was jailed for extremism in 2024. 'I serve the Fatherland!' he shouted after the verdict. Such figures may be marginal, but they wield outsized influence inside Russia's security apparatus. 'The fact they're the guys with the guns means the Kremlin has to at least be aware of them,' Mark Galeotti, a British historian and expert on Russian security, told The Telegraph. Why declare war? To most in the West, the conflict is clearly a war. But Putin still refers to it as a ' special military operation ' – a distinction that matters to Russia's hawks. They argue that only a formal war declaration would permit full-scale escalation – daily inter-continental missile strikes, mass mobilisation, and perhaps even the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, the nationalist podcast Russians with Attitude argued: 'Liberal Putinism has its perks – comfortable, modern, and nearly sanction-proof. A true 21st-century experience. But the cons are clear – soft-glove warfare, sparing enemy leadership, and burying failure.' Currently, most Russian soldiers are volunteers attracted by pay packets of about 200,000 roubles (£1,900) a month – a significant sum in rural areas. Declaring war could enable the mobilisation of two million reservists. 'The government and the authorities would essentially be given carte blanche to move the country on to an explicit war footing,' said Emily Ferris, Russia analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). But even as the bloodshed continues, the Kremlin has been careful to shield most Russians from its effects. At the outset of the invasion in 2022, Putin banned the words 'war' and 'invasion' from the media. Recruitment has been focused on the outer regions, not Moscow or St Petersburg. Russians may be dying in droves, but they do so mostly out of sight. In Moscow, Artyom, a cybersecurity researcher who did not want to give his real name, told The Telegraph that most young people trust in Putin's decisions as the country 'stands proud' with living standards still high despite the sanctions. Cracks in the illusion The Kremlin is forecast to spend 6.3 per cent of GDP on defence this year, which is the highest since the Cold War but not what would be expected of a country on a full war-time footing. For comparison, Ukraine spent 34 per cent of its GDP on defence last year. British defence spending as a percentage of GDP rose to more than 50 per cent during the Second World War. 'Mobilisation undermines economic stability,' said one current government employee. According to him, those close to Putin are able to persuade the Russian president that mass mobilisation would be a step towards the war effort's collapse. 'And why is it needed now? We have Kalibr missiles, we have volunteers. Their resources are not yet exhausted,' he added. A new wave of mobilisation would mean not only economic strain but also a public acknowledgement that the Kremlin is not succeeding in its three-year war against its neighbour. 'That is too costly an admission in a situation where everything hinges on the illusion of control,' noted the former high-ranking Kremlin official. While that illusion may not last forever, experts believe Putin's military will be able to fight at the current rate into next year, and possibly for years. 'I think next year is when a certain number of economic chickens come home to roost,' Mr Galeotti said. 'But the Russians will be able to fight this war for years.' The Kremlin appears to agree. Vladimir Medinsky, Putin's chief negotiator, recently told The Wall Street Journal that Russia could continue fighting for 'another 21 years' – invoking Peter the Great's long war with Sweden. Putin's popularity has surged since the invasion of Ukraine, according to both state-owned polls and those of the Leveda Centre, an independent institution that has frequently drawn the Kremlin's ire. However, that could change if Putin were to start mass mobilisation. There's also the question of fear. 'As soon as you call it war, every parent who has got a kid doing national service or going to be soon is going to start getting scared that they are about to be sent to the front,' said Mr Galeotti. In other words, escalation is not without political risk. While nationalist bloggers and pro-war influencers dominate Telegram and the Z-pilled commentariat, the Kremlin is all too aware of how fragile domestic control might become if the war truly came home. That explains Putin's brutal repression. There is no longer an organised war party in Russia. The prominent figures of that camp – and liberal opponents – have been removed. Mr Prigozhin, who at one time had been close to Putin, was killed in a suspected bombing weeks after his failed mutiny. Girkin is in prison. Alexei Navalny, Russia's most popular politician, died in a penal colony. This served as a signal from Putin to anyone who might display political initiative. Simultaneously, the security services are tightening control over radical patriotic and nationalist circles that have become more active after the invasion. 'So far, no power centre inside the country is capable of imposing its will on Putin,' said a Telegraph source close to the State Duma leadership. Limits of escalation In any case, for all the hawkish rhetoric, Putin's capacity to escalate is not limitless. That much was exposed by his response to Operation Spider Web. Given the significance of the attack, warmongers had demanded a massive response. They didn't get one. There's no denying the horror Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv have faced during massive drone barrages in recent days. But the retaliation was limited, by both Western standards and Russian expectations. 'The response to Operation Spider Web could have been a lot worse. That would've been the time to have a major response, they didn't do it,' Ms Ferris said. Experts believe Putin's military simply lacks the resources. Despite sabre-rattling over tactical nuclear weapons and strategic missile strikes, Russia doesn't have the capacity to launch the kind of daily missile barrages some of its loudest nationalists fantasise about. 'There's always more room for escalation,' Mr Galeotti said. 'Maybe Putin could fire a few hundred extra drones per day. But that's about it.' For now, though, the fantasy of full-scale war – of Oreshnik missiles fired daily at Kyiv, of Zelensky's government turned to rubble, remains just that – a fantasy.