Azawad Rebels Use Drones to Strike Russian Mercenary Camp in Mali

Rebels from the Azawad Liberation Front attacked Russian mercenaries in Mali using FPV drones.

The strike on the camp of the Russian Africa Corps mercenaries and Malian junta forces occurred on March 30 near the settlement of Anafif, according to Azawad media outlet Tanakra.

Alongside FPV drones, the rebels also employed artillery.

The camp suffered significant damage, though information on casualties among Russian mercenaries is not yet available.

On March 11, reports indicated that more than ten junta fighters and members of the Russian Africa Corps were killed in an ambush in Mali.
That attack took place near Nampala in the Ségou region, central Mali. Available data suggests the ambush occurred on March 9, 2026, near the village of Lugel, southwest of Nampala, on the road toward the Mauritanian border.

After the withdrawal of French troops and the UN peacekeeping mission, the Wagner PMC — and later the Russian Ministry of Defense’s Africa Corps — remained effectively the only foreign military force in Mali.

Russia has secured access to gold, uranium, and lithium deposits in the country, and signed an agreement to construct a refinery capable of processing up to 200 tons of gold annually.