Our colleagues of Mondafrique have released the following update. With its unmatched connections in the Sahel and West Africa, Mondafrique is one of the best sources of information on the region.
Mondafrique: Fierce fighting that raged until Saturday at the Algeria-Mali border ended in a victory for the Tuareg rebel groups over the Malian forces supported by Wagner, as reported on Sunday. After the humiliation of losing their Kidal stronghold last November, the fighters of the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the Azawad People (CSP-DPA), the new name of the Tuareg and Moorish independence coalition, dealt a crushing defeat to their enemies, especially to the Russian auxiliaries of the Malian army, who were the most numerous among the casualties, according to eyewitnesses and numerous images.
According to a Mondafrique source within the CSP-DPA, the Tuareg fighters counted 53 bodies of Russian militiamen and 15 Malian soldiers and captured 2 Wagner militiamen and 3 Malian armed forces soldiers. The CSP-DPA executive office’s statement, which has not yet published an official toll, reports 7 dead and 12 wounded among their ranks.
“For three days, intense fighting pitted its forces against a battalion of Malian army terrorists accompanied by a significant number of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner militia around the locality of Tinzawaten,” states the July 28 communiqué. “Our forces definitively annihilated these enemy columns this Saturday. Significant equipment and weaponry were seized or damaged. The few survivors in the FAMA and Wagner militia ranks were taken prisoner.”
“The CSP congratulates its men on this hard-won victory.” “It emphasizes that no confusion or subtly hostile propaganda against our commitment can steal our resounding victory,” seemingly alluding to a parallel claim by Al Qaeda jihadists, who are also well-established in this area.
A Defeat Acknowledged Informally by Wagner
Sources close to Wagner in Russia have confirmed this defeat. Wagner’s commander in Kidal, nicknamed Bob, seems to be among the killed. On Saturday evening, the Malian Army General Staff declared it had “successfully struck five terrorist targets.” “On the night of July 26 to 27, 2024, FAMa units patrolling the sector for three days began their retrograde movement,” the statement says, adding that “violent fighting continues against the coalition of terrorists.”
Defeated almost without a fight in Kidal by Malian drones, the northern Tuareg fighters retreated near the Algerian border, as they did in 2012, when after taking over the northern regions, they were routed by Al Qaeda-affiliated jihadists. Since then, disarray has been palpable within the CSP ranks, which sought to reorganize militarily and find new external support to avoid disappearing in favor of their historical rivals, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims.
The Russians of Wagner are both feared and hated, as they have been terrorizing Tuareg camps, often traversing them alone. Since this weekend, there has been great jubilation on northern Tuareg channels. The new victors are seen forcing their few Russian and Malian prisoners to make the sign of free Azawad. It is a revenge for their pride but also, undoubtedly, a comforting signal for their supporters, who are crammed by the thousands into complete destitution, in southern Algeria and in refugee camps in Mauritania.
