Goita has been seen for the first time since rebel attacks as Russia seeks to reduce speculation over the ally’s military government.
Published on 28 April 2026
Mali’s military leader Assimi Goita has met with the Russian ambassador to the East African country, according to his office.
Goita’s office published photos of the meeting on Tuesday, which was his first public appearance since rebel attacks over the weekend that killed one of his ministers.
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The news release came a day after Russia said it wanted stability in the West African country. , in which it has gained significant influence since taking power in the 2021 overthrow of Goita’s military government.
West Africa’s al-Qaeda-linked and Tuareg separatist group attacked Mali’s main military base and an area near Bamako’s airport on Saturday, while Russian troops deployed in support of government forces were driven out of Kidal in the north.
No statement accompanied the photos of Goita’s meeting with Russian Ambassador Igor Gromyko, but the image “speaks louder than words” of the regime’s reliance on “Russian mercenaries,” said Al Jazeera’s Nicholas Haq, who has reported extensively from Mali.
‘Peace and stability’
The same day, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement announcing that its paramilitary forces had helped prevent a coup during attacks on Saturday, preventing rebel fighters from capturing key objects, including the presidential palace.
“In fierce fighting with overwhelming enemy forces, Afrika Korps units inflicted irreparable losses on the enemy in personnel and hardware, forced (them) to abandon their plans and prevented (them) from carrying out a coup, upheld the authority of the legitimate government and prevented massive civilian casualties,” the statement said.
The Defense Ministry also confirmed that mercenaries from Russia’s Africa Corps, controlled by Moscow and sent to support the Malian government, were forced to withdraw from the key northern city of Kidal.
Separately, the Kremlin said it wanted immediate peace and stability in Mali, which has been wracked by insurgency and conflict for more than a decade.
Assurance
The photos, along with the Defense Ministry statement in Moscow, are clearly designed to show that the military government is safe, Haq said.
Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attack on Saturday, while Goita has not been seen since.
Haq said the military chief is now “trying to reassure the country that he is in charge and with the help of the Russians he will be able to provide security for the people in Bamako”.
However, social media footage is emerging showing Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers surrendering to armed groups that have united in an attempt to topple the military government, the reporter said.
Russia has warned that Tuareg separatists who have seized control of Kidal are “regrouping” for new attacks.
The armed groups – Tuareg rebels of the Free Liberation Front (FLA) and the al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) – were reported to have advanced into northern Mali on Tuesday.
The scale and scope of the attacks across multiple locations in the vast West African country over the weekend demonstrated the unprecedented ability of disparate groups of fighters to coordinate with different goals and strike at the heart of the military government.
The attacks were the largest in nearly 15 years, and saw two former enemies, al-Qaeda fighters and Tuareg separatists, join forces against the military government and its Russian paramilitary backers.
