Mali: Rebels say they killed soldiers in restive north

Tuareg rebels in northern Mali said on Saturday they had killed and injured dozens of soldiers aligned with the country's military regime .

The rebels claim to have also killed Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, in the fighting that took place in the north of the country, close to the Algerian border.

The Wagner Group went to Mali after the UN Security Council last year voted to end a decadelong peacekeeping mission in the African nation.

The UN vote came after the military junta there asked the 13,000-strong force to leave — a move the US said was engineered by the Wagner Group.

Intense fighting in northern Mali for two days

The rebel claim came after the Malian army said Friday that two soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in a rebel attack at the border town of Tinzaouaten.

A coalition led by Tuareg rebels said Saturday it had seized armored vehicles, trucks and tankers during the fighting on Thursday and Friday.

A spokesman for the rebel coalition said that "the enemy suffered huge losses in terms of lives and equipment, including dozens of dead and wounded."

He also said some "Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Wagner Group surrendered to the Tuareg fighters." 

Neither side's account could be independently verified.

But if confirmed, it would be the biggest blow inflicted on Wagner mercenaries by Tuareg rebels in Mali. 

Who are the Tuareg rebels?

The Tuareg are an ethnic group who inhabit the Sahara region, including parts of northern Mali.

Many of them feel marginalized by the Malian government and have long sought autonomy for the desert region they call Azawad.

Mali has struggled to stem the Islamist insurgency that took root following an uprising in 2012.

rm/sri (Reuters, AP)