Al-Qaeda-affiliated group claims to have killed four Russian fighters in Mali

The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), an al-Qaeda-affiliated group, has claimed to have killed four Wagner fighters in central Mali.

GSIM is the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel. According to a statement authenticated by the SITE Intelligence monitoring group, the group claims to have ambushed the Wagner soldiers as they were riding motorcycles in the Bandiagara region.

A local official told AFP: “Four Russians were killed over the weekend by jihadists near Bandiagara.”

Wagner is a private Russian security group.

Russia is an ally of Mali's ruling junta and Russian paramilitary fighters have been brought into the country. Bamako describes them as military instructors, but Western leaders describe them as mercenaries.

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