Dozens of Wagner mercenaries were killed by extremists and rebels on Saturday in northern Mali, in what analysts described on Monday as the largest battlefield blow to the group in years, while at least two others were captured. Waseem Naser, a specialist in Sahel affairs and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, stated that at least 50 Wagner fighters were killed in an ambush by Al-Qaeda along the border with Algeria, noting he counted the bodies in a video fragment.
Naser explained that the mercenaries were assisting the Malian army in its confrontations primarily with Tuareg rebels when their convoy was forced to retreat into the territory of extremist groups and was ambushed south of Tinzawaten.
Wagner confirmed in a statement on Telegram on Monday that some of its fighters were killed, as well as Malian forces in a battle against hundreds of armed militants. However, the mercenary group did not specify the number of its fighters killed. The Malian army reported losing two soldiers and killing 20 rebels.
In a statement released over the weekend, Al-Qaeda confirmed the deaths of 50 Wagner fighters in its attack aimed at "avenging the massacres committed in central and northern Mali in the years-long battle against extremists." The Tuareg rebels claimed that "an unspecified number of mercenaries and Malian soldiers surrendered to them."
Naser remarked, "This is really significant; it has never happened before on African soil and will change the dynamics. They will not send more ground missions like this near the border with Algeria. They have boasted about their good performance and strength, but they do not have the manpower to do this for long or to hold territory to secure deployment."
