Mali has launched air strikes on insurgent targets in and around the town of Tinzaouaten, located in its northern desert region, following recent attacks by ethnic Tuareg rebels and Islamist fighters that resulted in significant casualties among Malian soldiers and their Russian allies.
Both the Malian army and the Russian private military company Wagner reported losses between July 22 and 27 in the Tinzaouaten area, near the Algerian border. This incident appears to be Wagner’s most severe setback on African soil since their deployment to Mali.
The Russian forces have been present in Mali since the military, which came to power through coups in 2020 and 2021, expelled French and U.N. troops that had been combating Islamist insurgents for a decade, replacing them with Wagner personnel.
On Tuesday, the Malian army announced that it had attacked what it termed a “coalition of terrorists” in the Tinzaouaten area, in a joint operation with forces from neighboring Burkina Faso, which is also governed by a pro-Russian military junta. The army stated that “specific high-value targets including caches, logistical positions and vehicles have been hit,” and urged civilians to avoid insurgent positions.
The Tuareg rebel group involved in the earlier fighting, known as the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), condemned the air strikes and claimed that a drone operated by Burkina Faso had killed dozens of civilians. According to the CSP, the victims were mostly African migrant workers from countries including Niger, Chad, and Sudan, employed in local artisanal gold mines.
Neither Mali nor Wagner have disclosed the exact number of troops lost in the recent clashes, though Wagner confirmed that the commander of its unit in the area, Sergei Shevchenko, was among the casualties. Russian military bloggers have estimated that 20 or more Wagner personnel may have been killed.
The CSP stated that it had killed and injured dozens of Malians and Russians, while an Islamist group affiliated with al Qaeda claimed to have killed 50 Russians and 10 Malian soldiers.
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all former Western allies that have shifted towards Russia following military takeovers, signed a mutual defense pact last year. Mali cited this agreement to explain Burkina Faso’s involvement in the air strikes.
The Tuareg people, who inhabit the Sahara desert including parts of northern Mali, have long complained of marginalization by the Malian government. Tuareg separatists initiated an insurgency against Mali in 2012, demanding an independent homeland called Azawad. Their struggle later became intertwined with an al Qaeda-aligned Islamist rebellion in the same region.
Reuters
