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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Separatist rebels fighting in northern Mali said Thursday they had killed dozens of fighters from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as well as members of government forces near the Algerian border.
The separatists said on Thursday they had killed 84 militants, including from Wagner’s group, and 47 soldiers from the Malian army after three days of fighting that began on July 25. The fighting broke out at a military camp in Tinsawateng.
The group said about 30 other people were killed or seriously injured but had been evacuated by plane and taken to the city of Kidal.
They added that there were charred bodies inside the armored vehicles and trucks.
Azawad is an umbrella term for all Tuareg Berber regions, particularly northern Mali and northern and western Niger. Separatist groups are fighting to establish an independent state.
The separatist alliance said it had kidnapped Wagner and seven members of Malian government forces, and said it had killed nine people in the fighting.
AFP was unable to confirm the figures provided, but Wagner acknowledged the losses were heavy.
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