Tuareg Rebels Down Two Russian Africa Corps Aircraft in Mali Within 48 Hours

Russia's Africa Corps lost two aircraft over northern Mali in less than 48 hours in early July, as Tuareg-led rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) launched a coordinated offensive against military positions across the country.

On July 4, a Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft operated by the Russian paramilitary force was hit by ground fire while flying bombing runs against rebel positions near Anefif, in Mali's northeast. According to Intellinews, the damaged aircraft attempted to reach Gao Korogoussou air base, some 200 km to the south, but crashed during the recovery attempt, killing both pilots.

The following day, FLA fighters claimed to have shot down an Mi-24P attack helicopter that was covering a convoy retreating from Gao toward Anefis. The Mi-24 was reportedly ambushed near Tlemsi, with a truck-mounted 23 mm anti-aircraft gun described in early reports as the likely cause. The rebels said the entire crew was killed. Footage of the crash circulated widely, but neither Russian nor Malian authorities have confirmed the loss. According to Meduza, the crash was reported by a pro-military Russian Telegram channel, while the defense ministry in Moscow has remained silent.

The shootdowns came amid the heaviest fighting in northern Mali this year. The offensive, launched on July 4 by the FLA in coordination with the al-Qaeda-linked JNIM group, struck Anefis, Aguelhok and Gao in the north and Sevare in central Mali, according to Al Jazeera.

The Africa Corps, the Russian defense ministry's successor to the Wagner Group in the Sahel, has backed Mali's military government against Tuareg separatists and jihadist groups since taking over Wagner's operations there. The July losses bring to three the number of its aircraft downed by rebel fire since April: an Mi-8AMTSh transport helicopter was shot down by a man-portable air defense missile near Wabaria, in the Gao region, on April 25. While Russia fields more than 300 Mi-24/35s and nearly 300 Su-24s across its air force and naval aviation, the Africa Corps detachment in Mali operates only a handful of airframes, and replacements must transit an increasingly contested logistics chain to reach the Sahel.

The FLA has vowed to press its offensive, and with no official acknowledgment from Moscow or Bamako, independent verification of further losses in the region is likely to remain limited.