A convoy carrying Malian soldiers and fighters from Russia’s paramilitary Africa Corps was attacked in northern Mali on Thursday, with separatist fighters claiming responsibility.
The attack comes as fighting has intensified between the two sides since an April operation by the Al Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the Tuareg-led rebel group the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA).
The high profile operation killed the Mali’s then-defense minister and struck the capital Bamako’s airport.
The convoy was attacked while carrying over 200 Russian fighters and more than 100 Malian soldiers, a security source was cited by the Reuters news agency as saying. It was heading toward the northern town of Anefis, where fighting is reportedly still ongoing.
The French news agency AFP quoted a Malian security source as saying that a convoy of “dozens of vehicles with air cover” fell into “another ambush.”
Both Reuters and AFP cited Tuareg rebel sources as claiming responsibility for the attack.
“Our troops engaged in combat this Thursday near Tabankort (northern Mali) against the reinforcement force, which is composed 90% of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers”, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the FLA rebel group, told AFP.
