Helmet-camera footage shows troops in combat with Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM fighters in Mali
Russia’s Africa Corps has released footage of a gunfight with jihadist militants in Mali. The videos were filmed near the settlement of Niono in the central part of the country and published on the unit’s Telegram channel on Tuesday.
“Units of the Russian Armed Forces’ Africa Corps, together with personnel of the Malian Army, were conducting reconnaissance and search operations when they engaged in a gunfight with terrorists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM),” reads the statement accompanying the footage.
Both videos were filmed from a helmet camera worn by one of the Russian servicemen. In the first video, one of the troops says they are facing 12 gunmen. The footage shows the soldier taking cover along a riverbank while exchanging fire with the militants, neutralizing them one by one.
The second video shows the aftermath of the gunfight, with the Russian troops destroying the motorcycles the militants had used to reach the area.
Russia’s Africa Corps has been fighting armed groups in the West African nation together with the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa).
Mali has battled a jihadist insurgency since 2012, which has spilled into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. The three military-led states have severed defense ties with France, expelled French troops, and repeatedly accused Paris of sponsoring terrorism in the Sahel. They have since turned to Russia for security support.
Africa Corps, a Russian Defense Ministry unit which has been deployed in Mali since late 2024, provides training and combat support to national forces under a security partnership with Bamako.
During Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Niger earlier this month, Russia reaffirmed its commitment to expanding military cooperation with the three-nation Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Following talks in Niamey, Moscow pledged to strengthen the operational capabilities of the armed forces of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
