The Tuareg Rebel Group Accuses The Mali Army Assisted By Wagner Of Killing 24 Civilians

Russian Wagner Army/DOK TASS

JAKARTA - The Tuareg-dominated rebel alliance in northern Mali accused the Mali army, accompanied by Russian Wagner mercenaries, of killing 24 civilians traveling north to Algeria from the city of Gao, when soldiers reported clashes in the region.

Mali, led by the military junta, has for more than a decade fought jihadist groups allied with ISIS and Al Qaeda, grappling with the history of the insurgency led by Tuareg in the north.

The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said civilians traveled by two vehicles, one of which was burned.

While the others fled with several survivors.

Family members of the three victims, as well as a spokesman for the local human rights association Kal Bikin, confirmed the incident to Reuters as reported Tuesday, February 18.

One of the vehicles is transporting migrants, said one of the driver's family members.

Separately, the FLA said Mali soldiers and Wagner fighters had killed four people on Sunday in Aslagh village in the Kidal region.

In the third incident, FLA fighters clashed with the Mali army and Wagner fighters between Anefis and Aguelhok in the Kidal region, causing five FLA fighters to die, according to FLA sources.

Spokesman for the Mali armed forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Armed forces said a series of clashes had taken place in the west of Aguelhok and northwest of Anefis, killing seven terrorists', a term used for FLA rebels.

The statement also said the armed forces had targeted a group of terrorists using drones on Monday morning in the same zone.