Rebels jeered Putin’s troops out of a key African town. Now his regional grip is slipping away

By Nimi Princewill, CNN Abuja (CNN) — When Russian forces withdrew last month from the strategic stronghold of Kidal in northern Mali — retreating under the jeers of the very rebels they were sent to crush — they surrendered more than just territory. Observers characterize the withdrawal of the Kremlin-backed Africa Corps as a humiliating