Drone strikes claim at least six lives on Mali-Algeria border

• The Malian army and Russian fighters were accused of killing 10 people in the attack.
• The CSP-DPA alliance claimed a major victory over the army and its Russian allies over the weekend.
• Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) claimed to have killed 50 Russians and 10 Malians.

Drone attacks killed at least six civilians on Tuesday in a northern Mali town where the military and its Russian allies had recently suffered heavy losses fighting separatist rebels, according to local officials and separatists who spoke to AFP. On the same day, the Malian army announced that it had launched an aerial attack in coordination with Burkina Faso’s military at Tinzaouatene near the Algerian border.

The army stated that the attack had been carried out under the collective defense mechanism of the recently formed Confederation of Sahel States, which unites the military regimes of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

“The drones killed at least six civilians Tuesday — among them Sudanese, Nigeriens and Chadians,” a local official said after the attack.

Another official accused the armed forces and the Russian fighters of killing 10 people in the attack. Separatist spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud told AFP that “drone fire from the Malian army, accompanied by Wagner (Russian fighters), targeted civilian gold miners working in a mine near the Algerian border.”

He added there had been “dozens of deaths, mainly Nigerien Hausa and Chadians.”

A Malian source said that “the drones targeted and hit a pick-up transporting terrorist and their weapons,” without giving further details.

On Saturday, the Malian army and Wagner acknowledged a serious setback in the region, suffering heavy losses in their fight against separatist rebels and jihadists. On Monday, the Malian army admitted to a “large number” of deaths, marking a rare acknowledgment of their casualties.

The CSP-DPA alliance, a predominantly Tuareg separatist coalition, claimed a major victory over the army and its Russian allies over the weekend after three days of intense combat around Tinzaouatene. The Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) also claimed to have attacked an army convoy and Wagner mercenaries just south of Tinzaouatene.

JNIM claimed to have killed 50 Russians and 10 Malians, although AFP could not verify these claims. On Monday, the Wagner group also admitted to severe losses, including a commander. The military leaders of the West African nation, who seized power in a 2020 coup, have prioritized retaking control of the country from separatists and jihadist forces. Meanwhile, the junta has ended its military alliance with former colonial power France and turned to Russia for support.

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