- Military
- Insurgent
Fierce fighting at the Algeria-Mali border ended in a victory for the Tuareg rebel groups over Malian forces supported by Wagner. The Tuareg fighters, part of the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the Azawad People (CSP-DPA), defeated their enemies, particularly the Russian Wagner militia. Eyewitnesses and images confirmed 53 Russian and 15 Malian casualties, with 2 Wagner and 3 Malian soldiers captured. The CSP-DPA reported 7 dead and 12 wounded among their ranks.
The three-day battle around Tinzawaten saw the CSP-DPA annihilate enemy columns and seize equipment. The victory was significant for the Tuareg fighters, especially against Wagner's feared and hated forces. Wagner sources confirmed the defeat, with their commander in Kidal, "Bob," among the dead. The Malian Army reported ongoing violent clashes, claiming to have struck terrorist targets.
Previously defeated in Kidal, the Tuareg fighters regrouped near the Algerian border. This victory is a morale boost for their supporters in refugee camps in Algeria and Mauritania.
North Mali: Separatists claim to have killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers
The separatists in northern Mali claimed on Thursday, August 1 to have killed 84 members of the Russian group Wagner and 47 Malian soldiers in battles at Tinzaouatene, near the Algerian border, from July 25 to 27.
They also stated that around thirty individuals from this camp, either dead or seriously injured, were airlifted to Kidal, and that “burned” bodies were found inside armored vehicles and troop transport trucks, figures that independent sources have not been able to confirm according to AFP.
The army and the Wagner group had acknowledged heavy losses in battles of unprecedented scale for months, without providing specific numbers.
The separatists, an alliance of armed groups dominated by Tuaregs (CSP-DPA), also claimed to have taken 7 Wagner group and Malian armed forces (FAMa) prisoners and stated that they lost 9 of their own men.
They mentioned seizing a lot of enemy equipment, including 5 armored vehicles, 5 pick-up trucks, and numerous weapons.
They had claimed on Sunday to have achieved “a resounding victory,” promising to provide a consolidated report later.
This defeat represents the heaviest loss suffered in a battle by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in Africa, as agreed upon by analysts.
While an Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist group also claimed a deadly attack on the same column on Saturday, the separatists stated that the fighting “was exclusively led from beginning to end by the Azawadians,” inhabitants of Azawad, a northern Mali territory whose separatists demand independence.
On Monday, a Telegram channel associated with the Russian Wagner militia also spread details about the recent clashes in northern Mali, confirming losses among the ranks of the Russians and the death of a commander.
Since 2023, separatist armed groups have lost control of several locations in the North following an offensive by the Malian army that culminated in the capture of Kidal, a stronghold of the independence claim and a major sovereignty issue for the central state. https://www.france24.com/fr/afrique/20240801-nord-du-mali-les-s%C3%A9paratistes-affirment-avoir-tu%C3%A9-84-wagner-et-47-soldats-maliens