FAMa-Wagner Column Departs Gao for Kidal — Largest Offensive in Years

A column of ~115 vehicles carrying 600 Malian soldiers and 150–200 Wagner/Africa Corps personnel departs Gao heading north. MINUSMA evacuates its Kidal camp by October 31 under junta orders. The CSP-PSD (Tuareg rebel coalition) briefly occupies the vacated MINUSMA camp. The campaign is the largest Malian military offensive in years and the key test of Wagner's conventional warfare value.