There is a raw communications war taking place between the government of Mali and its foes in the north, namely the Touaregs. Ongoing clashed between Malian troops, allegedly aided by their hired Russian mercenaries on the one hand, and separatist Touareg groups in the north, on the other hand, have been reported by the feuding parties in extremely opposite terms. Both claim victory, confusion reins, and we are confused too.
On 27 July, the Malian military said five “terrorist” targets were neutralized in the Tinzaouatène region in the Kidal province along the border with Algeria. The General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces said there were human and material losses during the fighting, insisting that “FAMa (Mali’s armed forces) inflicted heavy losses on the ranks of terrorist fighters from July 25 to 26 following their vigorous response against an attack perpetrated by the enemies of peace, in Tinzaouatene, a locality located 223 km northeast of Kidal, on the Algerian border.”
Contradicting the Malian government’s account, several media sources, including the western media, suggested that the clashes were actually a victory for separatist groups. Echoing the Western media, Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported that a Tuareg separatist coalition in Mali claimed a major victory over the Malian army and its Russian allies after three days of intense fighting near the Algerian border. The Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security, and Development (CSP-PSD) reported that they defeated the enemy forces, seized weapons and equipment, and took prisoners, while losing seven fighters and wounding 12.” It added, “The recent battle in Tinzaouatene saw significant casualties and damage, including the downing of a helicopter. The Malian army reported two soldiers killed and 10 injured, while sources claimed Wagner Group casualties. Reports also suggested that Wagner fighters have been in Mali since 2021, despite Mali’s assertion that Russian forces are trainers.”
The same assessment was released by western news agencies such as AFP and Reuters, although there is no western reporter on the ground. Social media accounts are also divided along those who reported a government victory and those reporting the opposite.
This particular event creates confusion and more questions as it gets hard to obtain the right information. For instance, many of the reports not only name the Touareg coalition, but they also add names of terror groups like JNIM and Al-Qaeda, which may or may not have anything to do with these latest clashes, but their naming suits a specific agenda and narrative.
Then there is the participation of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. There have been several assessments over the past months suggesting that Wagner has been incorporated into the official Russian security apparatus and the military after the death of its founder and leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Does that mean that there is a direct involvement of the Russian state? What is also alarming is that the western media publishes news without proper due diligence on the ground. In one account, a famous newswire service said it had one phone conversation with an unarmed source in Kidal, using the conversation as evidence whatever its narrative.
In general though, several months ago we anticipated that the crisis in Mali, and indeed in the Sahel and potentially in West Africa, would worsen, precisely France will be an active participant, overtly or covertly. And indeed, France has enormous means in the communications and media sectors, suggesting that some in the western press are likely to report the French version of events without ensuring objective reporting.
