Militants Strike on Mali Capital Tests Russian Security Role

Mali’s army said on Saturday it was battling armed fighters who attacked their barracks in Bamako and other parts of the country. A Russian embassy official said Africa Corps, the Kremlin-controlled successor to mercenary group Wagner’s Africa operations, was supporting Malian forces fighting back militants outside the capital. “Our defense and security forces are engaged in neutralizing the assailants,” the army chief of staff said in a Facebook post, later saying on the army channel FAMa TV that militants had attacked Bamako, the nearby town of Kati and “other cities.” Residents reported smoke and explosions near Bamako’s airport around 7:30…