There was an attempted military coup in Mali. What you need to know
The Tuareg separatist rebel group the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) has announced that it has established control over the town of Kidal in northern Mali. Radical jihadist armed groups have launched coordinated strikes across the country. What you need to know about the situation in Mali is in the Izvestia article.
The situation in Mali
• Simultaneous attacks by armed radical groups have taken place in Mali. Fighting continues across the country, with security forces trying to repel attacks. This is one of the largest coordinated attacks in recent years. The media reported explosions at a military base in Kati near Bamako, where roads were blocked and military positions were occupied. Clashes are also taking place in Gao and Kidal in the north of the country and in Sevara in the center. Roadblocks have been set up at Modibo Keita Airport and on the roads leading to it, and transport checks are underway. The United States urged its citizens not to leave their homes because of the explosions and gunfire.
• The jihadist groups Jamaat-Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) associated with Al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization banned in Russia) may be involved in the attacks. The terrorists claim to have seized separate positions in Gao and Kidal, but there is no confirmation of these statements.
Who is ruling in Mali now
• In 2013, UN forces and the French army entered Mali to fight the rebels, but they later left the country. Since 2020, Mali has been ruled by a military junta led by Assimi Goita. Despite this, a significant part of the north and east of the country remains outside the government's control. In 2024, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso created the Confederation of Sahel States after leaving ECOWAS. The authorities have declared a common course towards sovereignty, collective defense and the fight against terrorism. The region remains a highly unstable area where armed jihadist groups operate: in 2024, the number of victims of attacks exceeded 300 people.
• The withdrawal of these three countries from ECOWAS has deepened the political divide with the regional bloc and worsened relations with France. At the same time, cooperation with Russia, China and Turkey in the military and resource spheres has grown.
• Mali's economy is one of the weakest in the world and relies mainly on agriculture and gold mining. About 80% of the population works in the agricultural sector, where cotton, peanuts, millet, rice and corn are grown, as well as livestock farming. At the same time, Mali ranks third in Africa in terms of gold production with a volume of about 60-70 tons per year. Gold accounts for about 70% of export earnings. GDP per capita remains low at around $750.
• The economy is heavily dependent on external aid and international financing, which covers a significant portion of investments (up to 90%). Industry is poorly developed, infrastructure remains limited, and the climate poses risks of droughts and unstable harvests. Political instability and conflicts further slow down and complicate the work of the economy, including logistics and investments.
Who are the Tuareg rebels?
• The Tuareg live in the Sahel region (the African region between the Sahara in the north and the more fertile lands in the south) and the Sahara Desert, but mainly in northern Mali. Tuaregs lead a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle and are engaged in cattle breeding. They use vast desert territories as a space of movement and control. There is a complex structure of clans and tribes within the community, where local leaders influence decisions and mobilization of people.
• The main political goal of some of the Tuareg movements is related to the creation of autonomy or an independent region in northern Mali, which is called Azawad. The first major uprisings occurred in 1961-1964, then in 1990-1995 and in 2007-2009. In 2012, a new major uprising took place, which led to the brief declaration of independence of Azawad and the capture of a number of cities in the north of the country. In the following years, various Tuareg structures separated and merged, including political and military coalitions such as the FLA, created in 2024.
Modern Tuareg rebel groups are involved in the conflict in Mali along with other armed forces in the region. Their influence is concentrated in the northern and desert regions, where government control remains limited.
Instability in Africa
• This is far from the first coup attempt in Africa over the past year. On December 7, 2025, the military tried to seize power in Benin (we wrote more about this here). They announced the removal of President Patrice Talon, creating a "military committee" under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri. Later, the authorities said that part of the army regained control, the mutiny held the main television center, 13 people were arrested, and the president and his family were not injured.
• Instability was also observed in Guinea-Bissau, where President Oumaro Sissoko Embalo was removed from power. This has become part of a chain of military coups and power shifts in recent years in West Africa, which has already affected Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso.
• Since 2020, more than ten military coups have been recorded in Africa, especially in the Sahel countries and former French colonies (we wrote more about this in this article). The causes of instability are related to the legacy of colonialism, artificial borders, weak State institutions, poverty and high unemployment.
When writing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinions of:
Tatiana Denisova, Head of the Center for the Study of Tropical Africa at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
Sergey Kostelyanets, Head of the Center for Sociological and Political Studies at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
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