Mali says it has cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine after a military official suggested Kiev played a role in deadly fighting near the border with Algeria last month.
Dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group were killed in days of clashes with Tuareg separatist rebels and fighters linked to Al-Qaeda.
Andrii YusovUkrainian military intelligence spokesman said last week that the rebels had received the “necessary information” to carry out the attacks.
A senior Malian official, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, said his government was shocked to hear the complaint and accused Ukraine of violating Mali’s sovereignty.
Yusov’s comments “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups” that led to the deaths of Malian soldiers, Colonel Maiga’s statement said.
Mali decided to sever ties “with immediate effect,” he said.
Last week, the Malian army admitted to having suffered “significant” losses during several days of previous fighting, which broke out on 25 July.
The clashes took place in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a town on the northeastern border with Algeria.
Reports say Malian and Russian forces were ambushed by Tuareg rebels and fighters from the al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin while they waited for reinforcements after withdrawing from Tinzaouaten.
Neither the Malian military nor Wagner – which has since morphed into a group called Africa Corps – have provided exact numbers, but the estimated death toll of Wagner fighters ranges between 20 and 80.
The Russian mercenary group’s losses are considered the heaviest suffered in Mali since it began helping the military government fight insurgents two years ago.
Wagner acknowledged that one of his commanders was killed and a Russian helicopter was shot down in “fierce fighting,” saying they were attacked by about 1,000 fighters.
Tuareg-led separatists said on Thursday they had killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
More than a decade ago, Mali’s central government lost control of much of the north following a Tuareg rebellion, which was sparked by demands for a separate state.
The country’s security has been further complicated by the involvement of Islamic militants in the conflict.
When seizing power in coups d’état in 2020 and 2021, the military cited the government’s inability to confront this unrest.
The new junta severed Mali’s long-standing alliance with former colonial power France in favor of Russia in a bid to quell the unrest.
