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Rebel fighters moved across the sand, their boots crushing through a macabre scene of fallen Russians. This was seen in a video which ended with a man begging for his life. This scene is not from the Russia-Ukraine war. It is from a battle where Russians were solely victims. It's from Northern Mali in Africa, where 50 Russian mercenaries were killed.
The Russia-Ukraine war has now crossed over to Africa.
A rebel group fought Russian paramilitaries helping the Malian government in West Africa. Now, reports say that information relayed by Ukraine to the Malian rebel group about the Russian mercenaries got them butchered. The toll of 50 Russians from the Wagner Group is the highest in recent times outside the Russia-Ukraine theatre of war.
What more? The rebels are planning to hand over the 15 captured Russians to Ukraine.
The Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group were killed as they were with the Malian government troops on patrol last week near a region where only Jihadi and Tuareg rebel groups have been active for a long time, reports CNN.
Mali has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for years now.
Warner Group, is a private Russian paramilitary group active in Africa. It is a part of what Russia now calls the African Corps. They said they had inflicted heavy losses on the fighter rebels. It also played an important role in the Russia-Ukraine war, but its future was questioned after the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed last August.
A Russian helicopter belonging to the Wagner Group was also destroyed in the battle, along with the capture of tankers and trucks.
Nikita Fedyanin, the editor and owner of the Grey Zone Wagner Telegram channel, also died in the attack in Mali, reports The Telegraph of the UK. Fedayin had posted pictures as his last message. It had heavily armed Wagner fighters posing near a burning tree.
A Tuareg rebel group and the al-Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel region, JNIM (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin) has claimed responsibility for initiating the attack against the Russians.
Around 50 Russians and Malian soldiers have died, claims JNIM. It has also released videos showing dozens of dead bodies in the area. A Tuareg militant group spokesperson told CNN how Malian troops and Russian fighters had been taken hostage during the battle.
According to unofficial Russian telegram channels, around 80 Russians were killed. This is the biggest loss for Russian paramilitaries in the region.
Russia has used them to challenge the Western influence in the area and in Central Africa.
Behind this ambush was a Ukrainian official who informed the rebels about the Wagner Group's whereabouts in the region.
The Kyiv Post also showed a photo where Malian rebels were seen holding a Russian flag, reports The Guardian.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Security Service, said on Ukrainian television that “the rebels received necessary information which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
“We won’t discuss the details at the moment, but there will be more to come,” Yusov said.
The Russian paramilitary force said that Malian rebels had regrouped. The battle lasted for three days. The rebel groups continued massive attacks, “using heavy weapons, UAVs [drones] and suicide vehicles,” said one Telegram account connected to the Wagner group.
“There are three of us left, we continue to fight,” was the last message from Russian fighters, according to a Telegram channel.
A former commander of the Russian fighters said at least 80 men were killed and 15 were taken hostage.
“They chased them and were drawn into the ambush. The number of enemies greatly exceeded ours. Almost all of our men were killed,” said Anastasia Kashevarova, a Wagner supporter and military blogger with 250,000 subscribers, reported The UK Telegraph.
Others have said it was an unequal battle and, as a result of which, Wagner fighters and Malian soldiers died heroically.
In the video, a Tuareg fighter is also seen taunting a half-naked Russian-speaking fighter.
A rebel Malian commander offered to send Russian prisoners, including a senior commander, to Ukraine to help its “struggle for justice and freedom”, according to The Telegraph report.
The Wagner group and other mercenary groups are used to losses in Syria and the Central African Republic. But beyond Ukraine, Russian mercenaries have suffered almost no setbacks. The prominence in Africa is even more important to Russia since it's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as in a battle to challenge Western control.
