Mali’s rebel coalition says it has killed dozens of Wagner soldiers and Russian mercenaries

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A coalition of armed groups in the mostly Tuareg-populated northern part of Mali said Saturday it had killed dozens of government soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group in a battle near the Algerian border.

Amateur footage on social media showed the dead bodies of several white men and Malian soldiers strewn on the ground next to destroyed vehicles.

The rebels made the claim after the Malian army issued a statement Friday evening saying two soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in the rebel attack, while two armored vehicles and two pickup trucks were damaged. The army said its soldiers had killed about 20 rebels and destroyed several vehicles.

Neither party’s account could be independently confirmed.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the pro-independence CSP-DPA coalition, said in a statement that fighting had been ongoing for two days on the outskirts of the village of Tinzawaten and that rebels had “routed an entire column of Malian army and Russian mercenaries.”

Ramadane said that “the enemy suffered huge losses in men and equipment, including dozens of dead and wounded.” He also said that “some Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Wagner’s groups surrendered to the Tuareg fighters.”

If true, it will be the biggest blow yet inflicted by Mali’s Tuareg rebels on Wagner’s mercenaries.

Rida Lyammouri, a senior researcher at the Policy Center for the New South, a think tank in Morocco, said the battle was a signal to the government that “things will not be so easy and straightforward when it comes to reclaiming and controlling the northern regions.”

“At the same time, this failure could unfortunately lead to further atrocities against civilians” by the government and Wagner, Lyammouri said.