In Mali, armed rebels shot down an Africa Corps helicopter belonging to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Fighterbomber z was the first to report this on the morning of April 26, and the information was subsequently spread by other pro-war audiences.
“The crew and mobile firefighting team on board were killed. The primary cause was external fire impact (SAM),” the Fighterbomber report says.
The type of helicopter and the number of deaths were not determined. Officially, the Russian Defense and Foreign Ministries did not comment on the loss of the helicopter.
In Mali, for several years, the army, which came to power as a result of a coup in 2021, has been fighting Tuareg rebels who want to create their own independent state in the north of the country, and Islamists linked to Al Qaeda.
The “African Corps” of the Russian Ministry of Defense began operating in Mali in 2024, replacing the structures of the private military company Wagner there. He fights alongside the official military authorities.
On April 25, Tuareg and Islamists carried out a series of large coordinated attacks on military sites in several cities simultaneously, including the capital, Bamako. authorities maleWhich repelled the attacks and killed “hundreds” of militants.