Separatists in northern Mali say they killed 84 mercenaries from the Russian Wagner Group and 47 Malian soldiers in late July

Armed separatists in northern Mali claim to have killed dozens of soldiers from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and members of the Malian armed forces in late July during clashes of unprecedented scale in Tinzaouatene, in a statement released Thursday, August 1.

In their count, the separatists attribute exactly to Wagner “84 dead still to be counted” and to the Famas (Malian armed forces) “47 dead still to be counted”In the same press release published on social networks, they assure that in addition about thirty people from these groups, dead or seriously injured, were airlifted to Kidal (north) and that bodies “burned” were also inside armored vehicles and troop transport trucks.

All the figures in the statement were impossible to confirm from independent sources by AFP. The separatists, an alliance of armed groups dominated by Tuaregs (CSP-DPA), also say they have taken seven prisoners from the Wagner-Famas group and claim to have lost nine men on their side.

This defeat is the heaviest suffered in a single battle by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in Africa, analysts agree. While no official toll has been released, the Malian army has acknowledged “a significant number of deaths” in Tinzaouatene, and a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner militia confirmed losses in their ranks and the death of a commander.

Mali has also been plagued since 2012 by the actions of groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, as well as violence from community and criminal groups. The junta led by Colonel Assimi Goïta has since 2022 multiplied acts of rupture, breaking the old alliance with France and its European partners to turn militarily and politically towards Russia.