\n<\/p>\n
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) \u2014 Dozens of Wagner mercenaries were killed by jihadis<\/a> and rebels over the weekend in northern Mali in what one analyst described on Monday as the largest battleground blow to the shadowy Russian group in years. At least two others were taken captive.<\/p>\n At least 50 Wagner fighters were killed in an al-Qaida ambush along the border with Algeria, said Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center who said he counted bodies in a video of the aftermath. The mercenaries had been fighting mostly Tuareg rebels alongside Mali’s army when their convoy was forced to retreat into jihadi territory and ambushed south of Tinzaouaten, Nasr said.<\/p>\n Wagner confirmed in a Telegram statement on Monday that some of its fighters as well as Malian troops were killed in a battle with hundreds of militants. The mercenary group did not say how many of its fighters were killed. Mali’s army said it lost two soldiers and 20 rebels were killed.<\/p>\n In a statement over the weekend, al-Qaida asserted that 50 Wagner fighters were killed in its attack meant to \u201cavenge the massacres committed in the center and north\u201d of Mali in the yearslong battle against the extremists. The Tuareg rebels said an unspecified number of the mercenaries and Malian soldiers surrendered to them.<\/p>\n The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the video Nasr cited.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really important, it\u2019s never happened before on African soil and it will change the dynamics,” Nasr said. \u201cThey won\u2019t be sending any more wild expeditions like this near the border with Algeria. They had been bragging about how well they were doing and how strong they are, but they don\u2019t have the manpower to do this for long or to hold on territory to secure deployments.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia has capitalized on the deteriorating relationships between the West and coup-affected Sahel nations<\/a> in West Africa to send fighters and assert its influence. Wagner has been active<\/a> in the Sahel \u2014 the vast expanse south of the Sahara Desert \u2014 as the mercenaries profit from seized mineral riches in exchange for their security services.<\/p>\n Wagner has been present in Mali since late 2021 following a military coup, replacing French troops and international peacekeepers in helping to fight militants who have threatened communities in the central and northern regions for more than a decade. At the same time, Wagner has been accused of helping to carry out raids<\/a> and drone strikes that have killed civilians.<\/p>\n The group has had an estimated 1,000 fighters in Mali.<\/p>\n