Mali

Republic of Mali

The present day Republic of Mali (République du Mali) was once part of the Ghana Empire, one of the Sahelian kingdoms that controlled trans-Saharan trade routes from the 8th to 11th centuries. The Mali Empire (1230s to 1600) spread from the West African coast to present day Mali, with its center of trade and learning at Timbuktu. Mali fell under French control in the 19th century, when it was considered a part of French Sudan. After joining briefly with Senegal (which withdrew shortly thereafter) to form the Mali Federation, the nation achieved its independence from France on 20 June 1960. After Mali's first president was overthrown in a bloodless coup, Mali was governed as a military regime until 1991 when a brief coup and transitional government brought about a new constitution and a democratically elected government.

The Armed Forces of Mali consist of the Army, Air Force, Gendarmerie, National Guard (formerly the Republican Guard), and the National Police (Sûreté Nationale).

Camouflage Patterns of Mali

• The oldest documented camouflage pattern in use with Mali's armed forces is a copy of the French tenue de leópard or lizard pattern. This has continued to be worn in various guises into the present era.

• This Asian-produced "lizard" design, loosedly based on the original French pattern, has also been worn extensively by Malian military forces, continuing into the present era.

• Some military personnel in Mali are known to wear Asian-made copies of the US m81 woodland camouflage pattern. This design has also been documented in use with some units of the Police Nationale.

• A three-color desert DPM derivative camouflage pattern, having dark brown and dark green disruptive shapes on a sandy background is one of the more commonly worn patterns seen today.

• An Asian-made copy of the US tricolor desert pattern is also known.

• A copy of the French military Centre Europe "wooland" pattern is also worn by personnel of the armed forces.

• Air Force personnel wear a blue DPM pattern similar to that worn by many National Police organizations in the Middle East.

• The Garde Nationale du Mali (National Guard), a separate branch of service (formerly known as the Republican Guard), has been documented wearing a copy of the six-color chocolate chip camouflage pattern originally designed by the USA. Not surprisingly, it appears more than one version of the pattern has been fielded, having a slightly darker or lighter color palette, depending on the origins of the fabric.

• Members of the Gendarmerie wear a variation of the six-color "chocolate chip" pattern desert camouflage with blue colorway, similar to that worn by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

• First documented in 2014, this brightly colored, woodland-based camouflage design has been in use with some elements of the Police Nationale well into the present era.

• Mali's Custom Agents (La Douane) now wear a pixelated urban pattern, seen below.

• The Federal Forest & Wildlife Service (Eaux et Forets) wear a variation of the old USMC "standard" camouflage design, with the addition of animal symbols like, paw prints and buffalo and lion heads.

• Members of the 33rd Para-Commando Regiment were first observed in 2013 wearing a woodland-style camouflage design with a brown/tan colorway, seen here.

• Some Malian Armed Forces personnel have been documented wearing a copy of the Italian vegetato camouflage design, circa 2017, although it may have been adopted earlier.

• Limited use of Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP) has been documented with personnel from the armed forces, including both officers and enlisted men of the 33rd Para-Commando Regiment.

• In service with the Army's Bataillon Autonome des Forces Spéciales or BAFS, a copy of ATACS-AU camouflage pattern has been worn by that unit since at least 2022.