Mali Tuareg Rebels Claim Heavy Casualties in Border Skirmish with Military and Wagner Mercenaries

Mali's northern Tuareg rebels reported significant casualties among soldiers and Wagner mercenaries in two days of fighting near the Algerian border. The Malian army confirmed soldier deaths and injuries, and the rebels claimed the capture of military equipment. The conflict involves a complex mix of local insurgents and foreign fighters.

Mali's northern Tuareg rebels have reported killing and injuring dozens of soldiers and Wagner mercenaries during two days of intense fighting near the Algerian border. The Malian army confirmed the death of two soldiers and injuries to 10 others.

The Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) said in a statement that they seized several armored vehicles, trucks, and tankers in the skirmish at the border town of Tinzaouaten on Thursday and Friday. The group also claimed to have damaged a helicopter that later crashed in Kidal, a town hundreds of kilometers away.

Statements from the Malian army indicated that one of their helicopters crashed in Kidal on Friday during a routine mission, but no lives were lost. Several Russian military bloggers reported that at least 20 Wagner group fighters had been killed in an ambush near the Algerian border.

Prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov said Wagner personnel, moving with government troops in a convoy, were killed, and some were captured. The Baza Telegram news channel, linked to Russia's security services, corroborated these reports. Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Wagner, known for its role in Ukraine, has been involved in Mali since at least 2021. Mali's military-led government, which came to power after coups in 2020 and 2021, has been fighting a protracted Islamist insurgency, with Russian soldiers assisting in training local troops using equipment purchased from Russia.

The Tuareg, an ethnic group inhabiting the Sahara, launched an insurgency against Mali's government in 2012, but the movement was soon overshadowed by Islamist groups. A peace agreement was signed in 2015, but CSP-PSD withdrew from peace talks in late 2022, reigniting tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)