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Tuareg separatists say they’ve “worn out” enemy forces and seized giant quantities of apparatus and weapons.
A coalition of primarily Tuareg separatists has received a serious victory over the Mali military and its Russian allies after three days of heavy combating in a district on the border with Algeria.
“Our forces definitively destroyed these enemy columns on Saturday,” stated a press release from Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the Everlasting Strategic Framework for Peace, Safety and Improvement (CSP-PSD) alliance on Sunday.
“A considerable amount of gear and weapons had been seized or broken,” and prisoners had been taken, the assertion stated, including that seven rebels had been killed and 12 wounded within the combating in Tinzaouatene district.
Mali’s navy leaders, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, got here to energy in 2020 and enlisted Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries for safety help after ousting French forces in 2022.
The Tuareg are an ethnic group that has been combating for independence since 2012.
Massive-scale combating broke out between the West African nation’s military and separatists in Tinzaouatene on Thursday after the navy introduced it had regained management of a number of districts.
Tinzaouatene is nearly completely surrounded by Algerian territory and has been the scene of a number of clashes between separatist forces and the military over the previous decade.
The CSP-PSD additionally stated it had broken a helicopter that crashed in Kidal, a insurgent stronghold. Separatist teams misplaced management of a number of districts in 2023 after an offensive by which navy authorities troops captured Kidal.
The Malian military stated in statements that two troopers had been killed and 10 wounded. Certainly one of its helicopters crashed in Kidal on Friday throughout a routine mission, however nobody was killed, it stated.
Adama Gaye, a journalist, writer and former director of the Financial Group of West African States, informed Al Jazeera on Sunday that the Tuareg forces could also be receiving outdoors assist, together with from the French navy and regional armed teams “loyal to al-Qaeda”.
Wagner fighters are stated to have been concerned
In a lot of movies shared by the rebels with the AFP information company, white troopers had been seen among the many prisoners, the information company stated in a report on Sunday.
An area official and a former UN mission official in Kidal informed AFP that the Malian military had withdrawn and that not less than 15 fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group had been killed or arrested.
Mossa Ag Inzoma, a member of the separatist motion, claimed that “dozens” of Wagner fighters and troopers had been killed or captured.
A number of Russian navy bloggers reported that not less than 20 members of the Wagner Group had been killed in an ambush close to the Algerian border.
“Workers of the Wagner PMC (Group), who had been touring in a convoy with authorities troops, had been killed in Mali… Some had been captured,” stated main Russian navy blogger Semyon Pegov, who makes use of the title Conflict Gonzo.
The Baza Telegram information channel, which has ties to the Russian safety companies, reported that not less than 20 Wagner fighters had been killed.
Al Jazeera couldn’t independently confirm the blogger’s or AFP’s stories.
Mali has stated the Russian troops will not be Wagner’s mercenaries however trainers serving to native troops with gear bought from Russia.
In keeping with Baza’s report on Sunday, Wagner fighters have been in Mali since 2021.
In the meantime, there have been a number of allegations of rights violations in opposition to the civilian inhabitants by the Malian military and Wagner troops. The Malian authorities deny the allegations.
Since 2012, Mali has additionally been affected by violence by rebels linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), in addition to by self-defense organizations and prison organizations.
Malian rebels declare main victory over military, Russian mercenaries | Battle Information
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