Russian Wagner announces loss of fighting against rebels in Mali

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said on Monday that its fighters and Malian soldiers took losses in heavy fighting against Tuareg rebels near Mali’s border with Algeria, Reuters agency reported.

In a rare statement, the group said its forces had fought alongside Mali soldiers from July 22-27 and that Wagner fighters were commanded by Sergei Shevchenko, whose callsign was “Pond”, near the border town of Tinzaouaten.

“On the first day, the ‘Pond group’ destroyed most of the Islamists and put the rest to flight,” Wagner said on Telegram. “However, (an) ensuing sandstorm allowed the radicals to regroup and increase their numbers to 1,000 people.”

Wagner said its fighters again repulsed an attack but that under massive rebel fire, there had been losses among Wagner and the Malian army.

The rebel movement, the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD), said on Saturday that it had seized armoured vehicles, trucks and tankers in the fighting at the border town of Tinzaouaten, the report said.