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☆ Putin's Wagner Group mercenaries got thrashed in the African desert — and Ukraine says it helped
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewUkraine's defense intelligence claimed a role in a recent battle in Africa — where separatist rebels destroyed a detachment of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries fighting overseas. The paper published a photograph of Malian separatist forces holding up a Ukrainian flag, an apparent expression of solidarity with the country. The battle killed Wagner Group commander Sergei Shevchenko, Razguzra Vagnera said. The separatist group that claimed responsibility for the attack is the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development, or CSP-PSD, the BBC reported. The CSP-PSD opposes Mali's junta, which has been propped up by the Wagner Group for several years.

Persons: —, Andriy Yusov, Razgruzka, Wagners, Wagner, Sergei Shevchenko, Razguzra Vagnera, Nikita Fedyanin, Nusrat al, Muslimin, Assimi Goïta, Goïta, ACSS, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, Russian Wagner Group, Main Intelligence, Kyiv Post, Business, Wagner, Malian, BBC, Russian Telegram, Astra, BI, Telegram, Wagner Group, Peace, Security, PSD, Mali's, Pentagon, Africa Center, Strategic Studies, Group Locations: Africa —, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Tinzaouaten, Mali, Russian, Islam, Africa

A Tuareg militant group spokesman said some Malian troops and Russian fighters had also been captured during the battle. According to some unofficial Russian Telegram channels, as many as 80 Russians were killed. The commander – call-sign Rusich – said on Telegram he was trying to convey a message to the Russian Defense Ministry. And in Syria five years ago, a disastrous attack by Russian mercenaries on an oil refinery led to dozens of casualties. One of them was an IED attack on a Russian vehicle in the same region of Mali as the latest devastating assault.

Persons: Nusrat al, JNIM, ”, Andriy Yusov, Yusov, Wagner, Wagner “, –, Sergei Shevchenko, Nikita Fedyanin, “, Korotkov, Africa Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Yunus, Bek, Yevkurov, al Organizations: CNN, Russian, Russian Telegram, Kremlin, Kyiv, Ukraine’s Security, Russian Defense Ministry, Corps, Grey, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Federation, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Central African, Wagner PMC, Deputy, SITE Intelligence Group Locations: Mali, Algerian, Islam, Africa, Malian, Russian, London, Syria, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Niger, Burkina Faso, Moscow, Togo

Niamey, Niger CNN —Niger’s armed forces have been bringing in reinforcements to the capital to prepare for a potential invasion, a military source told CNN, just hours after the military junta running the country refused to abide by an influential regional bloc’s deadline to cede power. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) responded days later by enacting sanctions and issuing an ultimatum to the ruling military junta: stand down within a week or face a potential military intervention. A junta leader said Sunday that Niger’s armed forces would be closing the country’s airspace due to the threat of military intervention. Wagner forces have been contracted to help local defense forces against rebellions and insurgencies, and suppress opposition. Both countries are sending delegations to Niger’s capital Niamey, “in solidarity with the people of Niger,” according to the Malian Armed Forces.

Persons: Niger CNN —, Mohamed Bazoum, Bazoum, insurgencies, Wagner, “, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Niger CNN, CNN, West African States, National Council for, French Foreign Ministry, Nigerien, Malian Armed Forces, Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Niamey, Niger, France, United States, Russia, West Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, “, ”, Burkina

☆ Wagner Group fighters implicated in the killing of hundreds of unarmed civilians in West African village: UN report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wagner Group is linked to a massacre of 500 people in a village in Mali, a UN report found. Outside the war in Ukraine, the event is the worst atrocity associated with the Wagner Group, The Guardian reported. But the military group also has various ties to African countries, according to the Associated Press, and has been accused of supporting other violent military operations in the region, per The Guardian. In the past few years, Russia has had a commanding presence in multiple African countries, with the assistance of the Wagner Group, to advance its global power. More than a year ago, the Kremlin-linked military contractor group began working with Malian armed forces to quell Islamic extremism in the country, per the AP.

☆ US urges Mali to investigate, hold accountable those to blame for Moura attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday urged Mali's transition government to pursue an "independent, impartial, efficient, exhaustive, and transparent investigation" to hold accountable those responsible for the likely execution of hundreds of people in one village. The identity of the white men was not clear, U.N. Human Rights Office regional spokesperson Seif Magango said. But Western countries have raised concerns over Russian private military contractor Wagner Group's activities in Mali since late 2021, including allegations of its role in Moura. "The United States continues to stand with the Malian people in the fight against terrorism," Miller said in a statement. "Human rights abuses and violations like those committed at Moura will serve only to drive aggrieved civilians into the ranks of terrorists and other armed groups."

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