Former Tuareg Separatists Attacked by Army and Wagner Group
The Azawad Movement Co-ordination, an alliance of mainly Tuareg groups seeking autonomy or independence from the Malian state, announced on Facebook that their forces were attacked by the Malian army and the Russian armed group Wagner on Friday in the city of Bir, located in the Timbuktu region (north).
Spokesman Muhammad al-Mawloud Ramadan called the attack “a violation of all security obligations and measures” and urged the international community to take notice.
In response, the Malian army announced that it had “strongly responded” to a hacking attempt on its website, blaming “terrorists” for the incident.
The former Tuareg separatists previously announced that their representatives had left Bamako for “security” reasons, further straining their relationship with the ruling military council.
The Azawad Movement Co-ordination is one of the parties that signed a peace agreement with the government of Mali in 2015.
Relations between the military government of Mali and France, the former colonizer, have deteriorated, leading the military council to seek political and military support from Russia.
Wagner Group’s Activities in Mali
Wagner, a Russian armed group, is openly active in Mali and three other African countries, providing support to fragile regimes in exchange for minerals and other natural resources.
In Mali, Wagner elements offer protection to the regime, conduct military operations, oversee training, and advise on the revision of mining laws and even the constitution.
The regime in Bamako claims that the foreign military instructors in Mali belong to the regular Russian army, not the Wagner group.