BAMAKO
\nDrone attacks killed at least six civilians Tuesday in a northern Mali town where the military and its Russian allies recently suffered heavy losses fighting separatist rebels, local officials and separatists told AFP.
\nThe Malian army said Tuesday that it had launched an aerial attack in coordination with Burkina Faso\u2019s military at Tinzaouatene near the Algerian border.
\nThe army said the attack had been carried out under the collective defense mechanism of the recently-formed Confederation of Sahel States, which unites the military regimes of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
\n\u201cThe drones killed at least six civilians Tuesday \u2014 among them Sudanese, Nigeriens and Chadians,\u201d a local official said after the attack.
\nAnother official accused armed forces and the Russian fighters of killing 10 people in the attack.
\nSeparatist spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud, told AFP that \u201cdrone fire from the Malian army accompanied by Wagner (Russian fighters) targeted civilian gold miners working in a mine near the Algerian border.\u201d
\nHe added there had been \u201cdozens of deaths, mainly Nigerien Hausa and Chadians.\u201d
\nA Malian source told AFP that \u201cthe drones targeted and hit a pick-up transporting terrorists and their weapons,\u201d without giving further details.
\nThe Malian army and Wagner acknowledged a serious setback in the region on Saturday, taking heavy losses in fighting against separatist rebels and jihadists.
\nThe Malian army on Monday said it had suffered a \u201clarge number\u201d of deaths, in a rare admission.
\nThe CSP-DPA alliance, a mainly Tuareg separatist coalition, claimed a major victory over the army and its Russian allies at the weekend following three days of intense combat around Tinzaouatene.
\nThe Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama\u2019at Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) also claimed it had attacked an army convoy and Wagner mercenaries just south of Tinzaouatene.
\nJNIM said it killed 50 Russians and 10 Malians, though AFP could not verify the claims.
\nThe Wagner group on Monday likewise admitted severe losses, including a commander.
\nThe West African nation\u2019s military leaders, who seized power in a 2020 coup, have made it a priority to retake all of the country from separatists and jihadist forces.
\nAt the same time, the junta has broken off its military alliance with former colonial power France and turned to Russia for support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BAMAKO Drone attacks killed at least six civilians Tuesday in a northern Mali town where the military and its Russian allies recently suffered heavy losses fighting separatist rebels, local officials and separatists told AFP. The Malian army said Tuesday that it had launched an aerial attack in coordination with Burkina Faso\u2019s military at Tinzaouatene near […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-422017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n