Mali’s army and its Russian mercenary allies surrendered a strategic northern military stronghold to armed rebels on Friday (May 1, 2026), as Tuareg separatists and jihadists waged a unified front to bring down the country’s junta.

Forces at Mali’s Tessalit military base, a “super-camp” near the Algerian border, surrendered and were scattering southward, an official from the Tuareg-dominated FLA separatist group told AFP.