Russia Loses Another Mi-24 as Tuareg Rebels Launch Major Offensive in Mali

A Russian-operated Mi-24 attack helicopter was reportedly shot down by Tuareg-led rebels during a coordinated offensive against Malian government forces and Russia’s Africa Corps in northern Mali.

According to Reuters and defense reporting published on July 5, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said it had destroyed a Russian-operated Mi-24 attack helicopter near Gao during fighting on July 4–5.

Neither Russia’s Ministry of Defense nor Mali’s military authorities have confirmed the reported loss. Video circulating online and cited by military observers appears to show the aircraft’s wreckage, although its authenticity has not been independently verified.

According to Reuters, coordinated attacks were reported across several towns in Mali, including Gao, Anefis, Aguelhok, Sévaré, and Kéniéroba. The FLA confirmed its participation in the offensive, while the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) separately claimed responsibility for attacks on multiple military positions.

According to the FLA, the aircraft was a Russian-operated Mi-24P “Hind” helicopter supporting a military convoy near Gao when it was brought down. The rebel group also released video and photographs that it said show the helicopter’s wreckage. Those claims have not been independently verified.

Video circulating online and cited by military observers appears to show the helicopter after it crashed. Analysts who reviewed the footage suggested it may have been hit by a 23 mm ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun mounted on a pickup truck.

Images from the crash site also appear to show Russian-language safety markings, including the word ´“danger”, near the tail rotor, consistent with Russian-operated aircraft.

The FLA said its fighters later reached the crash site and claimed the helicopter had been completely destroyed and that all crew members were killed. Russian and Malian authorities have not confirmed those claims.

According to Reuters, Mali’s military said it had repelled all of the attacks and that the security situation was “fully under control.” The army said 20 “terrorists” were killed in Sévaré and six more in Gao. A local official in Gao told Reuters that gunfire and rocket attacks continued around a military base before dawn but did not identify the attackers.

Russia’s Africa Corps replaced the Wagner Group as Moscow’s primary military presence in several African countries after the organization was brought under the Russian Ministry of Defense following the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023. The force has supported Mali’s ruling military junta since the withdrawal of French troops from the country.

The reported helicopter loss follows several previous incidents involving Russian aircraft in Mali. In April, rebels claimed they had shot down a Russian-operated Mi-8 transport helicopter near Gao and captured a Malian Air Force Mi-24P that had originally been supplied by Russia. In June, another reported attack targeted Mi-24 helicopters at Mopti Air Base.

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