At first glance, the image seems to show nothing more than a few pieces of metal strewn across the sands of the Malian desert. However, these photos, sent to the FRANCE 24 Observers team by an anonymous source from within the Azawad Liberation Front, show the debris from a Russian kamikaze drone that is being deployed for the first time in Mali. On April 15, the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) – a separatist movement – seized the strategic city of Kidal while carrying out an offensive alongside fighters from JNIM, a jihadist group based in the Sahel. Since being pushed out of the city, Russian mercenaries from the Africa Corps and the Malian army have been carrying out increasing numbers of drone strikes against the two rebel groups with devices that, up until now, had mainly been used in Ukraine. Read moreStreet battles and withdrawal of Russian mercenaries: Inside the 48-hour fall of Mali’s Kidal The FLA source who spoke to the Observers team told us that this drone strike took place in the region near Timbuktu. They said that the drone targeted a civilian vehicle, though we were unable to independently verify this.
This image showing drone debris was sent to our team by an anonymous source. © Observers
