(CNN) A deployment of Russian guns-for-hire, with links to the Kremlin, has sustained casualties in its fight against Islamist militants in Mozambique, multiple sources have told CNN. Multiple sources have told CNN that the Russian intervention has not begun well. Sources in the country also told CNN that the Russians are poorly equipped for combat in the dense bush and that the relationship between the mercenaries and Mozambique army is strained. Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told reporters in early October that "as far as Mozambique is concerned, there are no Russian soldiers there." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi meet at the Kremlin in August.

Source: CNN November 29, 2019 05:03 UTC