At least seven Russian mercenaries killed in Mali attack
BAMAKO, Nov 22 (Reuters) -At least seven mercenaries from Russia's Wagner private military contractor group were killed in an attack in central Mali that was claimed by an affiliate of al Qaeda in North Africa, Site Intelligence group said Friday.
Wagner previously suffered heavy losses in a July battle with predominantly Tuareg rebels and Islamists near Mali's border with Algeria which exposed the dangers faced by mercenaries working for military juntas in West Africa's Sahel region.
Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger are struggling to contain separatists and powerful offshoots of Islamic State and Al Qaeda who have occupied swathes of territory in the Sahel over the past 12 years.
SITE Intelligence group, which monitors extremist activities in the region, said in a statement that al Qaeda affiliate JNIM claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place on Thursday.
JNIM killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries and seized some weapons, SITE said.
A video seen by Reuters showed bodies of at least five white men in army fatigues lying around a military vehicle following an attack. Reuters was not able to verify the video's authenticity.
Photos shared by SITE Intelligence purportedly from JNIM showed bloodied, lifeless bodies of soldiers and several boxes of arms and ammunition.
A spokesperson for the Malian army could not be reached for comment.
A Malian army source said he saw seven dead bodies including Russian fighters, while two local administrators confirmed the attack. One of them said five Wagner fighters were killed.
A consultant working on security in the region said the attack was carried out by Katiba Macina, a branch of JNIM, and that at least six Russians had been killed.
The consultant said the Russians were Africa Corps fighters, referring to a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force that has replaced Wagner in Africa over the past year.
Mali has previously said Russian forces there are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.
Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo, Abdollah Ag Mohamed and Portia Crowe;
Additional reporting by Yomna Ehab in Cairo; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian
Editing by Bate Felix, Sofia Christensen and Angus MacSwan
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
