Fighters from the Azawad Liberation Front captured a Mi-24P attack helicopter belonging to the Malian Air Force during operations in the north of the country, amid the advance of rebel groups against positions held by Mali’s military junta.
The aircraft, identified by registration number TZ-07H, was located by separatists in an operational area in northern Mali. According to information shared by analyst Zaryon OSINT and reported by the Militarnyi portal, the helicopter was part of the Malian fleet and had been supplied by Russia in 2022.
The Mi-24P had been used for fire support to Malian Army ground forces in clashes against insurgent groups. Initial assessments suggest the aircraft was abandoned by Malian troops after technical problems or damage prevented it from taking off and being recovered.
Helicopter was part of a batch delivered by Moscow
The captured helicopter was part of a batch of military equipment received by the Malian Armed Forces on March 30, 2022, as part of cooperation with the Russian Federation. On that occasion, Bamako received two Mi-24P helicopters, as well as P-18 radars and 59N6-TE Pronet-GE systems.
At that time, the Malian Air Force operated a fleet composed exclusively of Soviet- or Russian-origin aircraft. The inventory included Mi-24D and Mi-35M helicopters, used mainly for air support missions, armed transport, and operations against insurgent groups.
Rebel offensive advances in northern Mali
The capture comes amid an intensification of actions by the Azawad Liberation Front, which operates in coordination with the group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin in an offensive against positions of Mali’s military junta. Recent reports also point to attacks against Russian units of the so-called African Corps, a structure that succeeded part of the operations previously associated with the Wagner Group on the continent.
In Kidal, a city where Russian forces had been based, rebels are also reported to have captured an operational control station for Bayraktar TB2 drones. Mali received these Turkish-made UAVs in December 2022.
Despite airstrikes and actions by Russian units slowing the pace of the rebel advance, the offensive remains ongoing. Armed groups, including Tuareg fighters, have been using artillery and FPV drones in attacks against military targets.
#Azawad pic.twitter.com/rCkBlMxtd7
— outamashaq (@oumaragg) April 27, 2026
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Source and images: X @oumaragg | @zarGEOINT | Militarnyi. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
