BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A coalition of armed groups in Mali’s predominantly Tuareg north said Saturday it killed dozens of government soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group in a battle near the border with Algeria.
Amateur videos on social media show the lifeless bodies of several white men and Malian soldiers strewn across the ground, next to destroyed vehicles.
The rebels’ claim came after the Malian army released a statement on Friday evening saying two soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in a rebel attack that also knocked out two armored vehicles and two pickup trucks. The army claimed its forces had killed about 20 rebels and destroyed several vehicles.
The statements of both parties could not be independently confirmed.
Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the pro-independence CSP-DPA coalition, said in a statement that a two-day battle raged on the outskirts of the village of Tinzawaten and that rebels “put to flight the entire column of the Malian army and Russian mercenaries.”
Ramadane said that “the enemy suffered huge losses in terms of lives and equipment, including dozens of dead and wounded.” He also said that some “Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Wagner groups surrendered to the Tuareg fighters.”
If true, it would be the biggest blow the Tuareg rebels in Mali have dealt to Wagner mercenaries.
Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a think tank in Morocco, said the fighting was a message to the government that “things are not going to be that easy and simple when it comes to retaking and controlling the northern regions.”
“At the same time, this setback could unfortunately lead to further atrocities against civilians” by the government and Wagner, Lyammouri said.
