Dakar. At least 15 civilians, including many children, were killed Sunday in drone strikes in northern Mali, sources said, in an area of clashes between separatists and jihadists on the one hand, and the Malian army and its Russian allies on the other.
Separatist armed groups have lost control of several towns in the north since 2023, following an offensive by the Malian army, a country ruled by a military junta that decided to break ties with France, the former colonial power, and its European partners and seek political and military support from Russia.
“The Malian junta’s army and the Russian mercenaries of the Wagner group […] “They carried out several bombings with drones from Burkina Faso in Tinazaouatène, a few metres from Algerian territory,” said the separatists, who reported a provisional death toll of 21 civilians, including 11 children, as well as dozens of wounded and “enormous material damage.”
At least 15 civilians were killed, a local elected official told AFP, adding that all of the dead were civilians.
A local NGO official and a retired Tinazaouatène official reported a death toll of “at least twenty”.
In that town, separatists and jihadists claimed to have killed dozens of members of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and the Malian army in fighting that took place between 25 and 27 July.
The army and the Wagner Group then claimed to have suffered significant losses but did not provide any precise figures.
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– 2024-08-30 13:39:42
