Rebels in Mali Capture Mi-24 Helicopter Provided by Russia in 2022

Soldiers from the Azawad Liberation Front have captured a Mi-24P attack helicopter (registration number TZ-07H) of the Malian Air Force. The separatists discovered the helicopter during operations in northern Mali.

Analyst Zaryon OSINT reported on this and shared the information on their X page.

The helicopter had been providing fire support to the Malian Army’s ground forces during clashes with Islamist insurgents.

The Malian military likely abandoned the helicopter due to technical issues or damage. Its condition made it impossible to take off for evacuation or further use by government forces.

The captured aircraft was part of a batch of weaponry that the Malian Armed Forces received on March 30, 2022. This delivery was part of a cooperation with the Russian Federation.

#Azawad pic.twitter.com/rCkBlMxtd7

— outamashaq (@oumaragg) April 27, 2026

At that time, Russia delivered two Mi-24P helicopters to Bamako, along with P-18 and 59N6-TE Pronet-GE radars.

When this equipment was received, the Malian Air Force had a total of eleven Russian-made aircraft in its fleet. The entire fleet was composed solely of Soviet or Russian-designed equipment.

These helicopters formed a single aviation squadron comprising seven Mi-24D platforms and four more modern Mi-35M helicopters.

The alliance of FLA rebels and the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin group is currently conducting an active offensive against the positions of the Malian military junta. Russian mercenary units from the so-called African Corps are also coming under attack.

In the city of Kidal, where Russian forces were previously based, the rebels captured the operational control station for the Bayraktar TB2 UAVs. Mali received these Turkish drones in December 2022.

Aerial and missile strikes from Russian units are impacting the speed of the rebels’ advance, but the offensive is still progressing actively.

Rebel groups, including the Tuareg, are actively using artillery and FPV drones to target objectives.