A commander in a Russian mercenary group has been killed in Mali following an assault by insurgent fighters throughout a sandstorm, the group mentioned.
The army regime within the West African state had turned to the infamous Wagner group in 2021, in search of help in combating jihadist and separatist forces.
On Monday the Russian outfit – which has now morphed into a bunch named Africa Corps – mentioned it had joined Mali’s army in “fierce battles” in opposition to separatist rebels and jihadist militants final week.
Nevertheless, the separatists launched a significant assault, killing an estimated 20 to 50 mercenaries, sources near Africa Corps instructed the BBC.
Equally, a number of Russian army bloggers reported that at the very least 20 had been killed within the ambush close to the north-eastern city of Tinzaouaten.
In an official assertion posted to Telegram, the Russian mercenary group didn’t specify what number of of their troops had died, however they confirmed struggling “losses”. This included a commander, Sergei Shevchenko, who was killed in motion.
The mercenaries initially “destroyed many of the Islamists and put the remainder to flight”, the assertion mentioned.
“Nevertheless, [an] ensuing sandstorm allowed the radicals to regroup and improve their numbers to 1,000 folks,” it added.
The Everlasting Strategic Framework for Peace, Safety and Growth (CSP-PSD), a separatist group dominated by the Tuareg ethnic group, claimed duty for the assault.
“On Saturday, our forces dealt a decisive blow to the enemy columns,” AFP quoted the CSP-PSD’s spokesperson as saying.
Prisoners had been taken and “a considerable amount of gear and weapons had been broken or captured”, the spokesman added.
The insurgent group has shared video footage which reveals quite a few white males in army fatigues mendacity immobile on a sandy plain.
One other reveals a bunch of largely black males carrying blindfolds with their fingers tied behind their backs.
The BBC has not been in a position to verify the authenticity of the movies.
Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, has additionally claimed sole duty for the assault.
The Islamist militants mentioned they killed 50 Russian mercenaries in a “complicated ambush”.
Greater than a decade in the past, Mali’s central authorities misplaced management of a lot of the north following a Tuareg revolt, which was sparked by a requirement for a separate state.
The nation’s safety then was then additional difficult by the involvement of Islamist militants within the battle.
When seizing energy in coups in 2020 and 2021, the army cited the federal government’s lack of ability to sort out this unrest.
The brand new junta severed Mali’s long-running alliance with former colonial energy France in favour of Russia in a bid to quell the unrest.
However the Wagner mercenary group was in impact dismantled after a mutiny by its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin final yr, resulting in its substitute in West Africa by Africa Corps.
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