Dozens have died after ISIS launched a brutal attack on an army base in Sahel State, Mali, according to reports. The terrorist organisation claims to have overrun a military barracks in Tissit in the east of the country, with photographs online showing buildings and vehicles burning. According to reports, as many as 40 soldiers are believed to have been killed. The attack comes just days after the Russian mercenary group Wagner announced that it was withdrawing from the country following "the completion of its main mission". The group had been operating in the country since 2021 and claimed on Telegram that it had "fought terrorism side-by-side with the people of Mali", killing "thousands of militants and their commanders, who terrorised civilians for years".

The country has been in the midst of a militant Islamist insurgency for over a decade and has seen an increase in jihadist attacks on military bases in recent weeks. Last Sunday, an al-Qaeda affiliated group launched a devastating attack on an army base in the town of Boulikessi where 30 soldiers are believed to have lost their lives. The attack was carried out by Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) who later claimed responsibility for the assault in the historic city of Timbuktu. Over the weekend, Malian soldiers pulled out of a major army base in the centre of the country following the second of two deadly attacks by Islamist forces.

The Malian military seized control of the country in 2021 and broke off ties with France, a colonial power who had soldiers deployed in the country to help combat the threat of Jihadist groups in the country. Since then, it has welcomed increasing levels of Russia influence including the deployment of Wagner troops, closely affiliated with the Kremlin. According to a United Nations report, the ruling military junta oversaw the execution of at least 500 people by Mali’s army and foreign fighters during a March 2022 anti-jihadist sweep in Moura. Mali has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors. The void left by Wagner group is expected to be filled by the Africa Corps, another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin that has supported several African governments.

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