EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The column of Malian government soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the former Wagner Group was advancing through a shallow valley in the southern Sahara desert in late July, several hundred miles north of the legendary caravanserai of Timbuktu, when a roadside bomb exploded, halting the troops and their vehicles.
What followed was a three-day battle, pitting Tuareg separatists against the Malians and their Russian protectors near the town of Tinzaouaten. When a sandstorm prompted a retreat, the Malians and Russians stumbled into an ambush by an al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militia group known as the JNIM, which has cooperated with the Tuaregs. Scores of Wagner fighters and Malian soldiers were killed, and several more were captured.
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.
Sign Up Log In
The post Russia v. Ukraine – in an African Desert appeared first on The Cipher Brief.
