In Mali, Tuareg rebels and a jihadist group linked to Al Qaeda attacked a convoy composed of mercenaries from the African Corps of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Malian army, they write. Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
According to Reuters, a convoy escorting more than 200 Russian fighters and more than 100 Malian soldiers was attacked. They were heading towards the city of Al-Nafis to the north. In this rebel-occupied city, a group of Russian mercenaries and Malian soldiers continue to maintain a military base.
Agence France-Presse indicates that Al-Nafis itself is the key to controlling the strategically important city of Kidal, which is located about 100 kilometers away and is under the control of Tuareg factions.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s Africa Corps supports the Malian armed forces in the fight against Tuareg rebel groups, which for many years have wanted to create their own state in the north of the country.