Mali: Clashes continued between the Mali army and the Azawad forces near border with Algeria

Armed clashes have taken place in Mali, near the border with Algeria, between the Mali army, backed by the Russian Wagner group, and Azawad armed groups.

The General Staff of the Malian Armed Forces announced on Thursday that an army patrol in Tinzaouaten, 233 km northeast of Kidal on the Algerian border, was attacked as terrorist.

The General Staff said in a statement that the army responded strongly and that a heavy loss has already been recorded among the Azawad militants, stressing the army’s determination to secure people and their property throughout the national territory.

Earlier, the Malian army launched an attack last week on the town of Tinzaouaten, which has been under the control of Azawad forces for years.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Mouloud Ramadan, spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements, said that “Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group are planning, together with the Malian army, to seize Tinzaouaten, the last haven for civilians who fled their abuses”.

“Azawad army units deployed in the area are clashing with the enemy to repel its advance,” Ramadan said, adding that enemy had suffered many losses.

Last Monday, the Malian army announced it had taken control of the strategic In-Afrak region, 120km northwest of Tessalit in the Kidal region.

Meanwhile, Azawad fighters have inflicted heavy human and material losses on the Malian army and Russia’s Wagner Group, according to the Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the Azawad People, as they added that there were dozens of dead and wounded.

The strategic framework said in a statement issued on Sunday that the Azawad fighters were also able to destroy armored vehicles and seize others that were not damaged, as well as some trucks, tankers, and other war materiel.

“After two days of heavy fighting on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, a unit on a mission to defend unarmed civilians was able to defeat an entire column of the Malian army,” according to a statement by Mohamed Mouloud Ramadan.

“This battle is only a prelude and proof of the firm desire to expel all enemies from the territory,” the statement said, calling on all fighters of the Azawad armed forces to join their units as soon as possible, and the Azawad people and their friends and sympathizers, to mobilize and unite to defend the cause”.

The statement denounced the silence of the countries of the region and the entire international community on the massacres and serious violations of human rights, committed by Russian Wagner mercenaries and the Malian army against the population of Azawad.

Meanwhile, the Malian army announced yesterday a provisional toll of fighting in the Tinzaouaten region, 233 km northeast of Kidal on the border with Algeria.

The Malian army reported the death of 2 of its soldiers, the wounding of 10 others, the decommissioning of two armored vehicles and two pickup trucks, in exchange for the death of 20 Azawad gunmen, and the destruction of many cars and a significant amount of military equipment.

The Malian army announced on Sunday that its M-24 helicopter suffered a technical malfunction on Friday, forcing it to land in an empty yard in Kidal, and the helicopter was damaged, but there were no casualties.

Since the end of 2023, Azawad armed groups have lost control of several areas in the north, after large-scale attacks by the Malian army, which enabled it to control cities, most notably Kidal, the main stronghold of the Azawad movements, as since 2012, Mali has faced armed attacks in the north and center, which continue to cause widespread casualties among the military and civilians, despite the positive results that the army occasionally talks about.