Mali

Russia said on Thursday its forces would remain in Mali and continue backing the country’s military rulers, rejecting demands from Tuareg separatists to withdraw after surprise attacks forced Russian troops out of a key northern town.

Mali's capital city Bamako - a major West African hub and home to more than three million people - is under a partial blockade by Islamist militants, days after the country's defence minister was assassinated there.

Jihadist and Tuareg separatist militants launched a sequence of shocking attacks across Mali on 25-26 April. The unprecedented scale, geographical spread and levels of coordination demonstrated by the strikes has sent shockwaves across West Africa. 

There are reports of continuing clashes in Mali on Sunday, a day after a series of coordinated attacks across the landlocked African nation against Government forces by extremists and northern separatist rebels. 

Following the 2022-2023 coups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the junta regimes turned to Russia, China and even the US. Now, the EU wants to invest more in West Africa's security and growth to forge closer ties.

The United States is reshaping its approach to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso as Russia expands the footprint of its Africa Corps across the Sahel region.

The landlocked country depends on fuel imports and in July had signed a deal with Niger to supply 85 million litres of fuel over six months to its vast, northern desert region, where various militant groups operate. Niger is an oil-producing country and a major ally of Mali - both run by military juntas which face jihadist violence.

The country’s transitional president has dismissed several high-ranking figures, including the former intelligence chief, citing ‘disciplinary measures’ amid a deepening climate of suspicion.  

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has strong diplomatic relations with the Sahel, also based on the precious metal: gold. Concerned countries are: Sudan, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Mauritania.

A poisonous cocktail of escalating conflict, blockades, increased displacement, and humanitarian funding cuts is pushing people in Mali to the brink. … For years, the epicentre of the crisis in Mali has been in the north and centre of the country. But in the last quarter of 2025, armed incursions have shifted to the south, extending the scope of human suffering.