What is known about the deaths of dozens of Wagnerites in Mali

Dozens of former Wagner PMC mercenaries have died in Mali, the largest losses in their entire history of presence in Africa.

The Russian “Africa Corps”, consisting mainly of former mercenaries of the PMC “Wagner”, lost several dozen fighters on the Malian-Algerian border. In the midst of a sandstorm, a column of Russian and Malian servicemen was ambushed by Tuaregs advocating for the creation of an independent state of Azawad, tells Air Force.

The death of a column of mercenaries in northern Mali became known on the night of July 28, a week after active military actions resumed in the north of the country, near the border with Algeria. The plan was to quickly defeat the Islamic Tuareg separatists, who have controlled the northern part of the country for the past 12 years and even declared the creation of their own separate state in 2012.

In the first days, the operation of the Malian army together with the Russian “Africa Corps”, created from the remnants of the PMC “Wagner”, was progressing successfully. A few days ago, they managed to take control of the village of In-Afarak on the border with Algeria. However, on the night of July 25-26, a column of Russian mercenaries began to advance towards the city of Tin-Zouatin, already located on Algerian territory.

Telegram channels linked to the mercenaries report that when the troops were about two kilometers from the Malian-Algerian border, they were caught in a sandstorm, which stopped their advance. Taking advantage of the natural conditions, local rebels ambushed former Wagnerites.

The result of the clash for the Russian side was losses that Russian mercenaries in their operations “on long-distance routes” (incurred during the war with Ukraine are not taken into account) have not suffered since the battle of Khasham in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. Then, in February 2018, a column of the same “Wagnerites” came under attack from American attack helicopters.

Russian sources say that between 20 and 50 Russian servicemen could have died as a result of the clash on the Malian-Algerian border. A source of the BBC Russian Service, who previously served in the Wagner PMC, says that at least 82 mercenaries were killed. Another source of the publication, who was in Mali, stopped responding to calls, and a memorial candle appeared on his mother's VKontakte page. For the second day, the relatives of the former mercenaries have been actively discussing the losses in this African country.

Malian rebels managed to damage at least one Mi-24 helicopter. Among those already confirmed dead is the administrator of the Grey Zone Telegram channel Nikita Fedyanin, known by the call sign “White” – his death was reported by a source of the TASS agency. During Prigozhin's life, this was one of the most famous channels writing about the Wagner PMC, with more than 500 thousand subscribers.

Various z-channels mentioned that one of the most famous commanders of the Wagner PMC, Anton Elizarov (Lotus), could have been in the Russian column, but nothing is known about his fate yet.

The Tuaregs confirmed the rout of Russian forces. AFP quotes Mohamed Elmauloud Ramadan, a spokesman for the CSP-DPA alliance of separatist groups:

“On Saturday, our forces inflicted a decisive defeat on enemy columns. A large amount of equipment and weapons were damaged or captured. There are prisoners.”

Source link