Mali Air Force Su-25 crash

A Sukhoi Su-25 of the Force Aérienne de la République du Mali (Malian Air Force, serial TZ-20C) crashed in Gao, on 4 October, in the north of the country.

The aircraft was acquired last August 2022 as part of a deal strengthening military cooperation between Bamako and Moscow.

The accident claimed the life of the Russian pilot, who was returning from a patrol.

Since May 2021, Mali has been governed by a military junta which overthrew Ibrahim Boubacar Keita nine months earlier.

The transitional authorities blame France for “abandoning Mali in mid-air” after Emmanuel Macron, the French president announced in June 2021 a review of Operation Barkhane, which took over from Intervention Serval in 2014, to fight jihadist groups.

To fill the void, Bamako called in Russian “instructors” considered by its Western partners as mercenaries from the private military company Wagner.