Cluster Bomb / Submunition event in Macina, Mali on Mon 25th May 2026

On Wednesday, May 27, the first day of the Tabaski religious festival, the Malian Armed Forces and the Africa Corps conducted a nighttime air operation against Kidal, which was likely emptied of its inhabitants. The casualty figures among members of the FLA remain unknown, but the historic mosque in the Aliou neighborhood (18.43169, 1.41057) was completely destroyed. One week earlier, the Kidal governor's palace had been destroyed.

In addition to the strikes carried out against the FLA in Kidal, several localities controlled by JNIM were targeted by airstrikes on May 25: A first series of strikes targeted a terrorist hideout southeast of Kwala (Koulikoro region), destroying significant logistical resources and camping equipment. A second series of strikes, northwest of Macina (Ségou region), destroyed another JNIM hideout. In this confrontation, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) decided to take a further step by allowing the Africa Corps troops to use cluster munitions in northern Mali, which are prohibited by international conventions. In the village of Tadjmart, 50 km south of Aguelhok, unexploded Russian-designed ShOAB-0.5 submunitions have been authenticated by independent specialists, who compared them to similar fragments found in Ukraine and Syria.