Al Qaeda Affiliate Claims To Kill 50 Russian Mercenaries And 10 Mali Soldiers

Valentin Sprinchak/TAS

JAKARTA - Al Qaeda affiliate group claims to have killed 50 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 10 Mali soldiers in an ambush in Mali's northern Kidal region near the border with Algeria.

Reported by Reuters citing SITE Intelligence Group information, the ambush took place on the same day, Saturday, July 27, when the Tuareg rebel movement known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) said it had killed and injured dozens of Mali soldiers and Wagner mercenaries during days of fighting in the border city. Tinzaouaten.

The death toll was a major blow to Wagner's toughest defeat since they intervened two years ago to help the Mali junta fight the Islamist group that waged an uprising in the Sahel region since 2012.

Mali, where soldiers seized power by coup in 2020 and 2021, said Russian troops there were not Wagner mercenaries, but coaches who helped local forces with equipment purchased from Russia.

However, Wagner said his fighters fought alongside the Mali army from July 22-27 near Tinzaouaten and suffered heavy losses, including the death of their commander Sergei Shevchenko.

Several Russian military bloggers reported 20 Wagner deaths.

SITE on Sunday July 28, citing a statement by the Al Qaeda branch of Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) who said its militants managed to ambush a convoy of Mali soldiers and Wagner mercenaries south of Tinzaouaten.

Mali soldiers and Wagner troops were ambushed after they withdrew from Tinzaouaten which they tried to seize from separatists led by Tuareg.

Two security sources said the convoy was attacked by separatist groups and JNIMs in remote areas, but to what extent the coordination between the two groups was unclear.

Mali authorities have accused Tuareg and jihad groups of collaborating.

Meanwhile, the Mali army said it was starting a "stabilization operation" in the insurgent-hit area on July 19 and launched an attack on July 25.

The sandstorm then benefited their opponents, allowing them to reunite around the convoy. The violent clashes occurred and caused heavy casualties and material, the statement said, without providing further details.

Suku Tuareg adalah kelompok etnis yang mendiami wilayah Sahara, termasuk sebagian Mali utara. Banyak dari mereka yang merasa dibiarkan oleh pemerintah Mali.

The separatist group led by Tuareg launched an uprising in 2012 which was successfully pushed back to the arid northern region of Mali and later hijacked by Islamist militant groups.