Video shows Omani rescue operation, not French military supplying ‘terrorists’ in Mali

Published on September 26, 2025 at 10:47
3 min read
By SUY Kahofi, AFP Ivory Coast, AFP Nigeria
Translation and adaptation Oluseyi AWOJULUGBE

Ever since a military coup led to a new government in Mali and the withdrawal of the French military, diplomatic ties between the two countries have been strained. Malian authorities have regularly accused France of supporting armed groups in its northern region, where insecurity is rife. Posts recently shared on social media claim to show a video of a French military helicopter supplying “terrorists” in northern Mali. However, this is false; the clip was taken in Oman during a rescue operation in August 2024.

“A satellite video of the Sahel, showing a French military helicopter providing supplies to the Terrorist in Northern Mali. The same France that lied to Mali for over a decade, that it was helping that nation in its fight against terrorism (sic),” reads the caption of a video shared on X.

The clip has been reposted more than 800 times since it was published on September 6, 2025.

The video included in the post shows a helicopter descending towards a group of people in a mountainous area.

Screenshot of the false X post taken on September 22, 2025

Some comments under the post appear to believe the claim, accusing the West of attempting to destabilise Africa.

“This is appalling and baffling but definitely not surprising. There are rumours of similar occurrences in Northern Nigeria, but the identities of the choppers or even its owners remained a great mystery,” a user commented.

The claim has been shared on other platforms, including here on Threads.

The former governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger were ousted in military coups in 2020, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

Amid deteriorating relations, the three countries announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2024, accusing the bloc of being ineffective in fighting the jihadist insurgency in the region and of being manipulated by former colonial power France (archived here).

However, the video has no connection to France or Mali.

Oman rescue mission

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked the claim in French.

Results from a reverse image search led to the longer, original version of the footage (archived here). It was published on August 17, 2024, by an Arabic-language channel on YouTube and was captioned “Rescue operation in Oman”.

A clip from this footage was posted on the official X account of the Royal Oman Police on April 18, 2024 (archived here).

AFP Fact Check noted matching elements, including the helicopter, the people on the hillside, and the boulders in the foreground.

Comparison screenshot of the video in the false X post (left) and the clip from the Royal Oman Police

“Police aviation is conducting a search and rescue operation for a person who fell from a mountain in Wadi Saqm in the Wilayat of Samail,” the Royal Oman Police captioned its video, in Arabic.

This shows that the video was recorded in Oman, in the Arabian Peninsula, and not in Mali as claimed in the post.

Helicopter registration

A closer look at the video shows that the helicopter is registered as A4O-CB. It also carries the red, white, and green flag of the Sultanate of Oman.

Comparison screenshots with an image of the Omani flag on the helicopter's tail, taken on September 26, 2025

The A4O prefix corresponds to that of aircraft registered in Oman, as shown by Logistique Conseil, a specialist transport website, or this directory of aircraft registration codes (archived here and here).

Screenshot taken from a document on the Logistique Conseil website on September 10, 2025

Helis.com, a helicopter history website, lists the model of the aircraft as an AW139 (archived here).

An article published by a defence news website in August 2023 identifies the helicopter, registered A4O-CB, as being an AW139 of the Royal Oman Police (archived here).

According to The Military Balance, which details military personnel and equipment across 170 countries, Oman currently has 11 of this type of aircraft.

Screenshot of the Military Balance website, taken on September 10, 2025

AFP Fact Check also contacted the French Joint Defense Staff, and its communications department said the French military does not use the AW139.

“France does not use helicopters in Mali,” it said in response to AFP Fact Check’s questions on September 3, 2025. “The activities of the French armed forces are systematically carried out in coordination with the partners with whom we work jointly.”

AFP Fact Check had previously debunked a similar claim about France supplying “terrorists” in Mali by helicopter in 2021.

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