Tuareg nomads defeated Russian troops in Mali – video
Rebels in Mali carried out a series of attacks on several cities, including the strategic town of Anefis, where militants from the Russian “African Corps” retreated in April alongside Malian government forces after fleeing the city of Kidal. The Russians lost a helicopter, a significant amount of equipment, and personnel in the fighting.
Government forces confirmed attacks on the towns of Anefis, Aguelok, and Gao in the north, Sevare in the center, and Keniorobi in the south of the country. A video has appeared online showing a downed Russian Mi-24 helicopter and a column of Russian “African Corps” militants that was ambushed.
The Tuareg rebel group “Azawad Liberation Front,” which operates in conjunction with the regional branch of Al-Qaeda—Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin—confirmed its involvement in the assaults. The latter claimed responsibility for attacks on or the capture of at least seven pro-government positions. According to journalists, the rebels entered Anefis, but Russian fighters currently remain inside the barracks in that city and in Aghelhok, which are the only locations where government troops and Russian forces are present in the Kidal region.
By the end of the day, fighting had ceased in the northern city of Gao and the central city of Sevare, where a large military base and an airport are located. An assault also took place in the southern city of Keniorobi, where members of Mali’s political opposition are being held; however, government forces there managed to repel the attackers.
Units of the so-called African Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense have left the strategically important city of Kidal in Mali. The withdrawal took place amid an unprecedented attack by Tuareg rebels and Islamists on several regions of the country simultaneously.
Representatives of the Tuareg rebels claim that government forces and their allies left Kidal as previously agreed. At the same time, there is no consensus among Russian Z-channels and military bloggers regarding the reasons for the withdrawal.
Malian soldiers and fighters from the Russian “African Corps” have been accused of killing four civilians in northern Mali. According to local residents and human rights activists, the body of one of the victims was dismembered and arranged in the shape of a swastika.
