Tuareg separatists say they have “destroyed” enemy columns and seized a large amount of equipment and weapons.
A predominantly Tuareg separatist coalition claimed a major victory over the Malian army and its Russian allies, after three days of intense fighting in a district on the border with Algeria.
“Our forces decisively destroyed these enemy columns on Saturday,” said a statement from Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) alliance, on Sunday.
“A large amount of equipment and weapons were seized or damaged,” and prisoners were taken, the statement said, adding that seven rebels were killed and 12 injured in the fighting in the Tinzaouatene district.
Mali’s military rulers, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, took power in 2020 and turned to Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries for security assistance, after expelling French forces in 2022.
The Tuareg are an ethnic group that has been fighting for independence since 2012.
On Thursday, large-scale fighting broke out between the West African country’s army and separatists in Tinzaouatene, after the army announced it had regained control of several districts.
Tinzaouatene is almost entirely surrounded by Algerian territory and has been the scene of other battles between separatist forces and the army in the last decade.
The CSP-PSD also said that it damaged a helicopter, which crashed in Kidal, a rebel stronghold. Separatist groups lost control of several districts in 2023 after an offensive that saw military government forces take Kidal.
The Malian army said in statements that two soldiers were killed and 10 injured. One of its helicopters crashed in Kidal on Friday during a routine mission, but no one was killed, he said.
Adama Gaye, a journalist, writer and former director of the Economic Community of West African States, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that Tuareg forces could be receiving outside help, including from the French military and regional armed groups with “allegiance to Al- Qaeda.” .
Wagner fighters allegedly involved
In some of the videos shared by the rebels with the AFP news agency, white soldiers were visible among the prisoners, the agency said in a report on Sunday.
A local official and former official at the United Nations mission in Kidal told AFP that the Malian army retreated with at least 15 fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group killed or arrested.
Mossa Ag Inzoma, a member of the separatist movement, said “dozens” of Wagner fighters and soldiers were killed or taken prisoner.
Several Russian military bloggers reported that at least 20 members of the Wagner Group were killed in an ambush near the border with Algeria.
“Wagner PMC employees [Group]who were traveling in a convoy with government troops, were killed in Mali… Some were captured,” said prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who goes by the name War Gonzo.
The Baza Telegram news channel, which has ties to Russia’s security structures, reported that at least 20 Wagner fighters were killed.
Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the blogger’s or AFP’s reports.
Mali said the Russian forces are not Wagner mercenaries but rather trainers helping local troops with equipment purchased from Russia.
Baza’s report said on Sunday that Wagner fighters have been in Mali since at least 2021.
However, there have been several accusations of abuses of the rights of the civilian population by the Malian army and Wagner forces. Malian authorities deny the accusations.
Violence perpetrated by rebels linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), as well as community self-defense and criminal organizations, has also rocked Mali since 2012.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
