The recent military developments in Mali, particularly the large-scale attacks carried out by jihadist and separatist groups, have reignited questions over the regional and international actors allegedly linked to armed factions operating across the Sahel, as the conflict increasingly evolves beyond a local crisis into a complex geopolitical battleground.
In this context, a report published by the political analysis magazine Politics Today on the war in Mali stated that Algeria is among four countries facing accusations of benefiting from instability or indirectly allowing room for maneuver to certain armed groups, alongside France, Ukraine, and Mauritania.
According to the report, Algeria’s name has become associated with the issue due to several factors tied to its historical influence in northern Mali and its longstanding relations with Tuareg movements, in addition to its desire to preserve its traditional role as a key actor in Sahel-Sahara dynamics.
The report added that growing tensions between Bamako and Algiers in recent years — particularly after Mali strengthened ties with Russia and the Alliance of Sahel States — have pushed some Malian circles to openly accuse Algeria of tolerating the movements of certain armed groups near Mali’s northern borders and offering them support.
At the same time, the report noted that France is also accused of seeking to weaken the anti-Western alliance formed by Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso following the decline of French influence in the region.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has been accused of attempting to open an indirect front against Russia in the African Sahel, especially after Russian allegations that Kyiv provided training related to drones and precision attack techniques to certain armed groups.
As for Mauritania, the report listed it among the countries believed to indirectly provide room for movement to some armed factions due to the complex tribal and security balances along its shared border with Mali, despite the absence of direct official accusations against Nouakchott of supporting those groups.
The debate comes amid escalating attacks carried out by groups linked to Al-Qaeda alongside Tuareg separatist factions, further complicating the security landscape in the Sahel as the region gradually turns into an arena of open competition between intertwined regional and international powers.
In this context, the French newspaper Le Monde revealed in recent weeks that Algeria had returned to the forefront of the Sahel scene through the worsening security crisis in Mali, playing a direct role in securing the evacuation of Russian fighters from northern Mali.
According to the newspaper’s report published on April 29, the Algerian mediation followed military developments in northern Mali, particularly in the city of Kidal, where armed groups managed to impose a new reality on the ground, prompting efforts to secure the withdrawal of Russian elements stationed alongside Malian forces.
The newspaper said the intervention was carried out through direct communication channels with Moscow, benefiting from Algeria’s relations with Russia as well as its complex ties with local actors in northern Mali, especially Tuareg groups that play a central role in local power balances.
According to Le Monde, these developments are reshaping power dynamics across the Sahel-Sahara region and restoring Algeria’s influence after it had lost part of its regional presence since late 2023 due to deteriorating relations with Mali’s transitional authorities.
The newspaper also noted that during that period Mali moved to reduce its reliance on Algerian mediation, particularly after ending the 2015 peace agreement, which had represented one of Algeria’s main instruments of influence in the Malian issue and was viewed at the time as a direct blow to Algeria’s regional role.
Tensions between the two countries further intensified with the exchange of accusations, as Bamako accused Algeria of interfering in its internal affairs and tolerating the movements of armed groups in the north, while Algeria rejected the accusations and reaffirmed its commitment to combating terrorism.
Le Monde added that the recent events could provide Algeria with an opportunity to reassert itself as a regional mediator, relying on its previous experience in managing Tuareg rebellions in Mali and neighboring countries, giving it diplomatic leverage that it now seeks to reactivate.
