Regional Leaders Take Aim At Mali's Relations with Russian Mercenaries

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, the Algerian representative, Ammar Bendjama, called on fellow UNSC nations to end 'mercenary activities' in Mali.The comments came after Malian military drone strikes killed at least 21 civilians and 11 children at a health center near the commune of Tinzaouaten, near the Algerian border, on Sunday."We need to stop the violations committed by private armies employed some countries," said Bendjama..What You Need to KnowThe first nation to condemn the actions of the Malian armed forces against ethnic Tuaregs at such a high-level international forum, Algeria, while not explicitly mentioning Russia, certainly left room for the link to be drawn between the European nation's 'military advisors' in the country and increasing attacks on the country's Tuaregs–which constitute an estimated three percent of the nation's population.As previously reported, the three-day battle of Tinzaouaten (July 25-27) in which Tuareg separatist forces and Islamic militants undertook separate assaults on a convoy of the Malian armed forces (FAMA) and its Russian mercenary auxiliaries, resulted in the death of almost 90 mercenaries and 50 FAMA.Since then, the Malian army has conducted two major rounds of strikes on the area, the first airstrikes targeted a market frequented by Nigerien, Sudanese, and Chadian workers on July 31st, while the most recent strike hit a health center responsible for the treatment of children.The targeting of civilian infrastructure has, in turn, prompted thousands of the locality's civilians to flee to Algeria for refuge, which is already situated at the 'heart of migratory flows' according to the French Institute for International and Strategic Relations.Taking power through a military coup in May 2021, Colonel Assimi Goita welcomed Russia's Wagner (Africa Corps) mercenaries into the country in December, expelling French forces–who bolstered the FAMA's counterterrorism campaigns–in 2022..So, What Now?Terminating the 2015 Algiers Peace Accord, which established a ceasefire between the Malian government and Tuareg separatists in early January this year, the FAMA and its Russian advisors have struggled to contain the various threats it faces, including al-Qa'eda and IS-linked militant groups, as well as the Tuareg separatists.Mali's geographical position, forming part of the Liptako-Gourma subregion–the tri-border area between Niger, Burkina Faso and itself–makes it tremendously difficult to address the terrorism issue in the nation as the highly mobile Islamic militants use motorcycles to duck in and out of the three nation's borders.Stepping up attacks on the Tuaregs, as they are are less mobile, the Malian government has attempted to paint itself as having overcome the defeat suffered at Tinzaouaten, although Tuareg sources claim just seven fighters have been killed since the aerial strikes began.