Survived Bakhmut, only to die in Malian desert: Wagner militants' tragic end
Wagner soldiers killed by Tuareg lie in the Malian desert for two months (Getty Images)
Among the dozens of Wagner mercenaries killed by Tuareg rebels during a sandstorm in the Mali desert in July were Russian war veterans who had survived conflicts in Ukraine, Libya, and Syria, according to Reuters.
Disturbing footage of the slain mercenaries is now circulating online, and some relatives told Reuters that the bodies of their husbands and sons were left abandoned in the desert.
The loss of such experienced mercenaries exposes the dangers faced by Russian mercenary forces working for military juntas attempting to counter insurgents in the arid Sahel region of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The defeat of Wagner forces in Mali raises doubts about whether Moscow, which has acknowledged funding Wagner and incorporated many of its mercenaries into the defense ministry forces, can achieve more than Western and UN troops recently expelled by the junta, said six officials and experts working in the region.
By comparing publicly available information with online reports from relatives and fighters, speaking with seven relatives, and using facial recognition software to analyze battlefield footage, Reuters was able to identify 23 missing mercenaries and two others captured by Tuareg near the town of Tinzaouaten on the Algerian border.
Several individuals had survived the siege of Bakhmut in Ukraine, which late Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin had described as a "meat grinder." Others had served in Libya, Syria, and elsewhere. Some were former Russian soldiers, at least one of whom retired after a full military career.
Mercenaries in Africa
Juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have established close defensive and diplomatic ties with Russia. Following coups in these countries, a Sahel States Alliance was formed.
In early August, the Tuaregs claimed that during intense fighting in the town of Tinzaouaten near the Algerian border, they had killed at least 84 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.
According to Le Monde, mercenaries from the Russian brigade known as the "Bears" are leaving Burkina Faso. They are being sent back to counter the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.
