(BAMAKO, MALI) – Russian military contractors are retreating from multiple bases in northern Mali, abandoning positions and equipment to a coalition of Tuareg separatists and Al-Qaeda-linked militants, according to verified video footage and official statements. The withdrawals mark a sudden collapse of Russian influence in the West African nation, evoking comparisons to the Kremlin’s abrupt loss of its military foothold in Syria. Over four days beginning 25 April, combined forces of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) and the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) overran at least four settlements and military installations previously garrisoned by the so-called Russian African Corps, a…