MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Some 1,000 militants belonging to the Coordination of Azawad Movements group as well as from al-Qaeda, both banned in Russia, have attacked Russian fighters near Tinzaouaten in Mali, the Wagner group said in a statement.
"On the first day, the group destroyed most of the Islamists and forced the rest to retreat. However, a sandstorm which occurred later allowed the radicals to regroup and increase their numbers to 1,000 people. In this regard, the command of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) decided to transfer additional forces to the area of combat operations to assist the 13th assault squad," the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
According to it, on July 25, the militants attacked again, "but thanks to the coordinated actions of storm troopers and Malian servicemen, the attempted attack was repelled." "Over the next two days, radicals have stepped up the number of massive attacks, using heavy weapons, drones and car bombs, which caused losses on the part of the Wagner PMC and the Malian armed forces," the statement said.
The group pointed out that the last radiogram of the attackers, sent in the evening on July 27, reported that only three Russian fighters remained alive; they continue to fight. It is also specified that the commander of the 13th assault squad Sergey Shevchenko was killed in action.
Situation in Mali
On July 26, armed militants attacked a patrol of government troops in the area of Tinzaouaten (northeast Mali, on the border with Algeria). According to the Malian authorities, two servicemen were killed and 10 others were wounded. In turn, the security forces managed to eliminate about 20 terrorists, destroy their vehicles and equipment.
According to a communique released by the General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces, the country’s servicemen are engaged in fierce battles with terrorist groups in the area of Tinzaouaten. The document said that the zone where the clashes are taking place "is teeming with terrorists and smugglers of all kinds." The General Staff also called on civilians to leave the areas where terrorists are located to avoid casualties.
The armed conflict between the Malian authorities and extremist and separatist groups began in 2012. Since then, the country has been in a state of crisis, especially in terms of security and socio-economically.