Fighters from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) published videos on Sunday, August 16, 2026, which they said document a drone belonging to the Malian army and the Russian Africa Corps, claiming that they had shot it down in the Farabougou area, in the Ségou region.
In the recordings, one of the group’s spokespersons appears particularly enthusiastic, stating that the drone was reduced, after being shot down, to “several small pieces,” referring to the extent of the damage it allegedly sustained.
This development comes amid an intensification of aerial reconnaissance operations conducted by the Malian army and the Russian Africa Corps using drones, in order to monitor the areas of deployment and movement of JNIM and the Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) in the regions of Azawad and Macina.
These operations are also marked by airstrikes that, according to several testimonies and allegations, predominantly affect civilian populations, particularly markets, homes, and residential areas.
These developments demonstrate the growing use of drones in military operations in Mali and Azawad, as fighting continues and the scope of reconnaissance operations and airstrikes expands into inhabited areas, particularly in the Kidal region.
