Wagner reports on the fight against militias in Mali

Wagner Group reported in a statement that it conducted violent battles with militants in Mali during the period from July 22 to 27 (August 1 to August 6).

According to the RT report, this group also announced the casualties of its fighters and confirmed that the commander of an attack squad belonging to this group was killed in these clashes.

In the statement published on the Telegram channel of this group, it is stated: Between July 22 and 27, 2024, soldiers of the Mali Armed Forces and members of the 13th Storm Division of the Wagner Group, under the command of Commander Sergei Shevchenko, fought violent battles against the militants from Al-Qaeda did. 

In the continuation of this statement, it is emphasized that the storm squad commanded by Shevchenko was able to eliminate most of the extremists on the first day and forced the rest to flee. But the storm continued to allow the extremists to regroup and increase their numbers to 1,000, so Wagner’s command decided to move additional troops into the battle zone to assist the 13th Platoon. On July 25, the militants attacked again, but due to the coordinated actions of the Wagner group and the Mali army, the attack attempt was repelled.

This statement adds: Over the next two days, the extremists increased the number of mass attacks using heavy weapons, drones and suicide cars, which resulted in the casualties of Wagner Special Forces and Mali Armed Forces soldiers. The last radio message of the Shevchenko group was received by the other members on July 27 at 17:10, in which they said: During the intense conflict, only three of us remained and continued to fight. 

Translator: Mina Azimi