Wagner exits Mali after bloody defeats, replaced by another Kremlin-controlled force

By Global Watch and AFP | 2025-06-10

Russia's foothold in Mali is showing cracks as its infamous Wagner Group withdraws amid mounting battlefield failures.

The exit comes on the heels of significant losses suffered by Malian troops and the Russian mercenaries in recent clashes with Islamist insurgents.

In late May, fighters from the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) launched a devastating attack on a Malian military base in central Mali, killing dozens of soldiers.

Russian Wagner mercenaries embedded with Malian forces were reportedly among the casualties.

The major losses might have caused the possible end of Wagner's mission, suggesting that battlefield pressure has forced Russia into a tactical retreat, Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel scholar at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, told the Associated Press.

"The lack of an official and mutual announcement from both the Malian authorities and Wagner indicate possible internal dispute which led to this sudden decision," he said. "Simultaneously, this could point to a new framework for Russian presence in the country."

Diplomatic and security sources confirmed to AFP on June 8 that Wagner forces are no longer operational in Mali, with their operations taken over by a new Russian entity, the Africa Corps, now directly under the Russian Defense Ministry.

A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: "Mission accomplished. PMC [Private military company] Wagner is going home."

Despite the Kremlin's attempts to frame the move as a restructuring effort, the timing strongly suggests a forced reorganization due to operational failure.

Moscow's official narrative -- that its engagement with Mali consists solely of military instructors -- continues to clash with reports from the ground. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on June 9 sidestepped questions about Wagner's withdrawal, instead offering vague assurances of enhanced military cooperation with African states.

Mali's ruling junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support.

Brutal methods

The Kremlin long has used Wagner mercenaries to carry out its military aims while leaving Russia's army at home, and Wagner mercenaries played a pivotal role in the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, Wagner, Russia's best-known mercenary group, was disbanded and restructured after its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, died in a suspicious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow.

Mali has never officially admitted Wagner's presence, insisting it worked only with Russian instructors.

France withdrew its 2,400 troops from Mali in 2022 after ties with the junta soured and anti-French sentiment surged among the public.

"The Kremlin remains in control," a diplomatic source in the Sahel region told AFP.

"Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako."

For over three years, Mali had relied on Wagner in its fight against insurgents who have killed thousands across the country.

"Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia; that is to say, the Kremlin," a Malian security source told AFP June 8.

The Russian paramilitary group's brutal methods on the ground in Mali have been regularly denounced by human rights groups.

A United Nations report accused Mali's army and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 locals during a March 2022 anti-insurgent sweep in Moura -- a claim denied by the junta.

The foreign fighters were Wagner mercenaries, say Western governments.

Last April, bodies were discovered near a Malian military camp, days after the army and Wagner paramilitaries arrested dozens of civilians, most from the Fulani community.