Mali cuts ties with Ukraine amid deadly border clashes
Mali reported that it is severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine. This happened after Kyiv suggested it played a role in last month's fighting near the Algerian border. Dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group were killed in the clashes.
2:49 PM EDT, August 5, 2024
Dozens of Malian soldiers and Wagner group mercenaries were killed in several days of clashes with Tuareg separatists and fighters linked to Al-Qaeda.
A spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, said that the rebels received "necessary information" to carry out the attacks. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, a government spokesman, said his government was shocked to hear this claim. He accused Ukraine of violating Mali's sovereignty.
He confirmed Ukraine's involvement in a cowardly, treacherous, and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups, said Col. Maiga, as quoted by the BBC.
Malian and Russian soldiers were ambushed by Tuareg rebels and fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked organization Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) while waiting for reinforcements. Neither the Malian army nor the Wagner group, which recently transformed into a group called Africa Corps, provided exact figures on their losses. The estimated number of fatalities among Wagner fighters ranges from 20 to 80.
The Malian army admitted that it suffered significant losses during the several-day exchange of fire that broke out on July 25th. The fighting occurred in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a northeastern town on the border with Algeria.
The losses of the Russian mercenary unit are considered the heaviest they have suffered in Mali since they began assisting the government against insurgents two years ago. Tuareg separatists claim they killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
The Wagner group has been present in Mali since 2021, following France's withdrawal of its peacekeeping forces after a coup. At that time, interim president Assimi Goita invited the Russian mercenaries as a substitute.
