One of Wagner's New Leaders Killed in Africa: What Happened in Mali Convoy Attack ?

magictr | July 30, 2024 | News | No Comments

Several dead in attack on convoy in Mali. (illustration) MAXPPP – Nicolas Remene/Le Pictorium

The Russian Wagner militia is still present in several areas of the world, particularly in Africa. In an attack led by rebels, several soldiers from the paramilitary group were hit, including one of its leaders.

The Malian army acknowledged on Monday "a significant number"of dead in its ranks after fighting at the end of last week in the north of the country, near the Algerian border, at a time when the separatists are congratulating themselves on a resounding victory.

Dead and wounded

“The FAMa (Malian armed forces) unit was surrounded by the coalition of terrorist forces from the Sahel and violent fighting broke out before the arrival of reinforcements. The bravery and exemplary determination of our soldiers did not prevent a significant number of losses in human life and material damage”, said the army general staff in its press release read on national television, without giving figures.

The fighting, on a scale not seen in months, broke out on Thursday in the town of Tinzaouatene. On Sunday, an alliance of predominantly Tuareg separatist armed groups (CSP-DPA) claimed a "resounding victory" against the Malian army and its Russian allies from the Wagner group.

The jihadists of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, also claimed to have booby-trapped the same convoy and killed 50 Russians and 10 Malians, figures that AFP is unable to confirm. A local elected official and a former worker of the UN mission in Kidal had given a provisional toll of at least fifteen dead on the Wagner side.

“The FAMas fully and responsibly take the measure of this event and are currently conducting a detailed analysis of the events to draw all the necessary lessons and readjust their security and stabilization strategy”, according to their press release.

They affirm that this “situation cannot call into question the dynamics of the exercise of the authority of the State over the entire national territory”. The Malian army rarely communicates on its losses. Pressure from armed groups and the ruling military has silenced most independent sources of information in the areas of operation.

The general staff reports having initially inflicted heavy losses on the “terrorists”, before weather conditions came to”seriously influence the situation”. The separatists acknowledged on Sunday that seven of their soldiers had been killed and twelve wounded.

Death of a Russian commander

In its statement, the general staff then explained that the armed groups "terrorists" grouped in an "opportunistic coalition" including the EIGS (Islamic State in the Greater Sahara) and GSIM – but not mentioning the separatist groups – then launched several suicide vehicles against his forces.

The separatists and jihadists have released several videos showing corpses, many of them white. These images also show vehicles, including a helicopter, destroyed during the fighting. On Monday, a Telegram channel associated with the Russian Wagner militia also released details of the recent clashes in northern Mali, confirming losses in the ranks of the Russians and the death of a commander.

Several sources close to Russian military circles announced the death, during these clashes, of the creator of the Telegram channel Grey Zone, which broadcasts information on the actions of Russian mercenaries around the world and is followed by more than 550,000 people.

Since 2023, separatist armed groups have lost control of several localities in the North after an offensive by the Malian army that culminated in the capture of Kidal, a stronghold of the independence movement and a major sovereignty issue for the state central.

The offensive in the north of the country has given rise to numerous allegations of abuses committed against the civilian population by Malian forces and their Russian allies since 2022, which the Malian authorities deny. Mali has also been plagued since 2012 by the actions of groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization and by violence from community and criminal groups.

The junta led by Colonel Assimi Goïta has since 2022 multiplied acts of rupture. They broke the old alliance with France and its European partners to turn militarily and politically towards Russia.