Russia on Thursday (April 30, 2026) said its forces would stay in Mali, rejecting a call from Tuareg rebels for Moscow to withdraw after separatists and jihadists launched the largest attacks against the military junta’s rule in 15 years.

Russia is a crucial military backer to the Malian government.

Russian forces must withdraw from “all of Mali”, and the ruling junta will “fall sooner or later”, a spokesman for Tuareg rebels told AFP, after Islamist insurgents and separatists launched attacks destabilising the west African country.

Mali has been plunged into an unprecedented security crisis after a Tuareg-dominated rebel alliance and jihadists at the weekend carried out coordinated attacks against the West African country’s military leadership and its Russian paramilitary backers.