Mali’s militant attacks expose limits of Putin’s power in Africa

Russian backing for the ruling junta has not stopped rebel fighters striking significant blows in recent daysMali in turmoil after insurgents seize towns and kill defence ministerWhen Assimi Goïta, the leader of Mali’s military junta, sat down with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin last summer, it symbolised Moscow’s commanding sway over Mali at the expense of the west.As the two men spoke, roughly 3,500 miles to the south, about 2,000 Russian troops were propping up the