The mercenaries, who are seen as an extension of the Kremlin, are said to have helped Malian troops in a retaliatory attack. Seven civilians are dead.
Bamako/Kiev/Moscow – Seven civilians were killed and three injured in a drone attack in Mali, West Africa. According to Ukrainian intelligence sources, Russian… Wagner mercenaries supported Malian troops in the retaliatory strike in northern Mali. The attack is said to have been aimed at the Tuareg rebels, reports Kyiv Post.
The incident is said to have occurred on the night of October 5-6 in areas controlled by the Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), one of the Tuareg separatist groups claiming responsibility for the Clashes took over in July, killing dozens of Wagner soldiers.
Many Wagner soldiers killed in Mali: Fighting in July brings heavy losses for Putin’s mercenary force
At that time, the Russian Wagner mercenaries in Mali suffered one of their heaviest losses to date in West Africa, with several dozen fighters killed and captured. The rebels from the separatist Tuareg people in the north of the Sahel state said they killed several dozen Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries in three days of fighting who were trying to take the village of Tinzaouatène on the border with Algeria.
Since 2021, Russian mercenaries have been fighting with the Malian army against all rebel movements in the country, including Islamist terrorist militias as well as the Tuareg. The Tuareg launched a rebellion for independence in northern Mali in 2012 in an area in the Sahara that they called Azawad, temporarily collaborating with Islamist terrorist groups that have since spread throughout the region.
The Tuareg uprising ended in 2015 with a peace agreement that gave the desert people more rights. However, Mali’s military government officially canceled the agreement at the beginning of the year after the Tuaregs also accused the junta of not adhering to it. Shortly before, with the help of Russian mercenaries, the army had achieved an important victory by recapturing the desert town of Kidal from the autonomous semi-nomads.
The latest drone attack has met with sharp criticism: residents of Mali are calling for an end to the occupation
According to Ukrainian intelligence sources, the latest outbreak of violence over the weekend (October 5-6) by the Malian military, Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group and the African Corps drew sharp criticism from local residents. They demand an end to the aggression and occupation of their historic lands.
If the latest incident is confirmed, it would be another war crime committed by the Russian terrorist Wagner, as targeting civilians who are not directly involved in hostilities is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention.
Wagner mercenaries are officially in Mali as “instructors”. They likely supported the drone attack by providing the equipment and skills necessary to carry out the attack.
Wagner mercenaries violated the Geneva Convention: 21 civilians died in a drone attack in August
At least it is not the first violation of the Geneva Convention by the Wagner mercenaries. Just in early August, Malian forces and Russian mercenaries carried out a drone strike in Tinzaouaten, killing 21 civilians.
Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Moroccan think tank Policy Center for the New South, claimed at the time, referring to the July clashes, that “the airstrikes, including against civilians, are likely to be an act of revenge following the recent serious setback for the Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali will increase”.
In Tinzaouatène, rebels and jihadists said they killed dozens of fighters from the Malian army and the Russian mercenary group Wagner in attacks a month ago. The government army and Wagner had admitted heavy losses at the time, without giving any figures.
The military junta that has ruled Mali since 2020 has set itself the goal of retaking the entire country from separatists and jihadist groups. The military rulers in Bamako are relying on the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which is active as an extension of the Kremlin in several African countries. (dpa/bg)
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