Rebel coalition in Mali claims to have killed dozens of soldiers and Russian Wagner mercenaries

BAMAKO, Mali -- A coalition of armed groups in Mali’s predominantly Tuareg north claimed Saturday that it killed dozens of government soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group in a battle near the border with Algeria.

On social media, amateur videos showed the lifeless bodies of several white men and Malian soldiers scattered on the ground alongside destroyed vehicles.

The rebel claim came after the Malian army issued a statement Friday night saying two soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in a rebel attack that also disabled two armored vehicles and two pickup trucks. The army claimed its troops killed approximately 20 rebels and destroyed several vehicles.

Neither side's account could be independently confirmed.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesman for the pro-independence CSP-DPA coalition, said in a statement that a two-day battle raged on the outskirts of Tinzawaten village and the rebels "routed the entire column of Malian army and Russian mercenaries.”

Ramadane said that “the enemy suffered huge losses in terms of lives and equipment, including dozens of dead and wounded.” He also said some “Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Wagner groups surrendered to the Tuareg fighters.”

If true, it would be the biggest blow inflicted on Wagner mercenaries by Tuareg rebels in Mali.

Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a think tank in Morocco, said the battle was a message to the government that “things are not going to be as easy and as simple when it comes to recapturing and controlling northern regions.”

“Simultaneously, this setback might lead unfortunately to further atrocities against civilians" by the government and Wagner, Lyammouri said.