MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. The vehicles and weapons used by Malian militants who attacked government forces and Russian instructors indicate that their actions were coordinated by Western forces, Alexander Ivanov, director of the Community of Officers for International Security, told TASS.
On July 26, armed militants attacked a patrol of government forces near Ti-n-Zaouatene in northeastern Mali, on the border with Algeria. According to the Malian authorities, two government soldiers were killed and ten more were wounded. Government forces killed about 20 terrorists and destroyed their vehicles and weapons.
"The ambush they ran into was much better organized than what they had encountered before. They had reconnaissance and special units <…>, necessary vehicles and weapons. Apart from that, the weather was unfavorable for us [government forces]. It looks like Western forces coordinated militants’ actions," Ivanov said.
"This situation shows how difficult operations involving Russian specialists in Africa can be," he said. "I am sure that Russian instructors who accompanied the Malian military were world-class professionals and the tragic death of each of them is an irreparable loss."
"It has been reported since last year that foreign forces - French agents, American private military companies and even Ukrainian instructors engaged to train militants - have intensified their activities in this region," he noted. "It requires a serious re-assessment of forces and capacities by all Russian military specialists and our allies to take the situation under control."
According to the Malian General Staff, the country’s army engages in fierce fighting against militants near Ti-n-Zaouatene. This area "remains a stronghold of terrorist and contrabandists of all sorts," it said and called on civilians to leave areas invaded by terrorists in order to avoid casualties.
The armed conflict between Mali’s authorities and extremist and separatist groups flared up in 2012. Since then, the country has been in a state of a security and socio-economic crisis.