Dozens of Russian mercenaries dead
Rebels seeking autonomy in Mali have killed dozens of Russian mercenaries in an attack that is being portrayed as a setback for Moscow’s African ambitions.
Rebels seeking autonomy in the West African country of Mali killed dozens of Russian mercenaries last week in what appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks on Russian personnel on the continent since Moscow first sent Wagner Group guns-for-hire there in 2017.
It was unclear exactly how many Russians were killed in the attack, which took place near Mali’s northern border with Algeria and targeted a column of Russian fighters and Malian troops.
But several Telegram channels associated with the Russian military and mercenary groups presented it as a major setback for Moscow’s efforts in Africa.
Rusich Group, a neo-Nazi Russian paramilitary unit associated with Wagner, said more than 80 men were killed in the operation and that more than 15 had been captured.
Rybar, another channel associated with Russia’s military and mercenaries, said “the number of losses hardly exceeds a couple of dozen”.
“This is the first serious failure and a blow to the image of not only the Wagners, but also the entire … Russian presence,” it said.
A Tuareg rebel commander in Mali said 54 Wagner fighters had been killed with seven Malian soldiers, while the Tuareg side lost seven fighters.
The Malian military played down the incident, saying that it had suffered just two dead and 10 wounded, while 20 attackers were killed.
The Malian authorities didn’t mention any Russian casualties. Russia’s embassy in the Malian capital of Bamako, and the defence ministry in Moscow didn’t comment.
Mali has been struggling to contain al-Qa’ida and Islamic State-linked insurgents for more than a decade, and Tuareg separatists in the country’s volatile north for even longer.
After a pair of military coups in 2020 and 2021, Malian officers hired Wagner Group mercenaries to act as bodyguards for top junta members and conduct combat missions.
The Russian presence drove a wedge between Mali and its traditional Western military partners, and led to the ejection of French counter-terrorism troops and the end of a UN security mission.
A Tuareg rebel movement claimed responsibility for the attack. The operation appears to have killed the administrator of a well-known Wagner Telegram channel, Grey Zone, according to a Tuareg commander who identified himself as Inkinane when reached by phone and a senior Western security official.
The Rusich Group also confirmed the death of the administrator, known by his call sign White, on its Telegram channel.
American officials believe that images circulating on social media of dead Wagner fighters littering the battlefield are genuine.
A US intelligence official said the Tuaregs might have been seeking retribution for an offensive last November in which Malian and Wagner forces, armed with drones, seized the town of Kidal, a Tuareg stronghold.
The government campaign last autumn shattered a years-long truce with the Tuaregs.
Kate Vtorygina contributed to this article.
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