Mali Reaffirms Russia Ties After Major Jihadist Assault

Mali’s leadership signaled it will not rethink its Russia-backed security strategy, even as the scale of rebel attacks over the weekend raises fresh questions over its effectiveness. Insurgents recaptured the Malian town of Kidal, a town that Kremlin-linked fighters wrested back in 2023. Africa Corps, a force overseen by Russia’s defense ministry, announced it was withdrawing from Kidal. The pullback punctures the claim that Moscow could deliver where France and other Western allies could not. Bloomberg’s Jennifer Zabasajja reports. (Source: Bloomberg)