Wagner previously suffered heavy losses in a July battle with predominantly Tuareg rebels and Islamists near Mali’s border with Algeria which exposed the dangers faced by mercenaries working for military juntas in West Africa’s Sahel region. Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger are struggling to contain separatists and powerful offshoots of Islamic State and Al Qaeda who have occupied swathes of territory in the Sahel over the past 12 years.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 22, 2024 22:27 UTC