{"id":34375,"date":"2024-08-04T23:46:23","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T03:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/mali-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-ukraine-over-wagner-ambush-claims\/04\/08\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-08-04T23:46:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T03:46:23","slug":"mali-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-ukraine-over-wagner-ambush-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/mali-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-ukraine-over-wagner-ambush-claims\/04\/08\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Mali cuts diplomatic ties with Ukraine over Wagner ambush claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mali says it has cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine, after a military official suggested Kyiv had played a role in deadly fighting near the Algerian border last month.<\/p>\n

Dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group were killed in days of clashes with Tuareg separatist rebels and fighters linked to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n

Andriy Yusov<\/a><\/span><\/span>, a spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence, said last week that the rebels had been given the “necessary information” to conduct the attacks.<\/p>\n

A top Malian official, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, said his government was shocked to hear the claim and accused Ukraine of violating Mali’s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Yusov’s comments “admitted Ukraine’s involvement in a cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack by armed terrorist groups” that had led to the deaths of Malian soldiers, Col Maiga’s statement said.<\/p>\n

Mali has decided to break off relations “with immediate effect”, he said.<\/p>\n

Last week, Mali’s army admitted it had suffered \u201csignificant\u201d losses <\/a>during several days of fighting earlier that erupted on 25 July.<\/p>\n

The clashes took place in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a north-eastern town on the border with Algeria.<\/p>\n

Reports say the Malian and Russian forcers were ambushed by Tuareg rebels and fighters from al-Qaeda affiliate Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin while waiting for reinforcements, after retreating from Tinzaouaten.<\/p>\n

Neither Mali\u2019s military nor Wagner – which has since morphed into a group called the Africa Corps – have given exact figures, but the estimated death toll for Wagner fighters ranges from 20 to 80.<\/p>\n

The Russian mercenary outfit’s losses are thought to be the heaviest it has suffered in Mali since it began helping the military government fight the insurgents two years ago.<\/p>\n

Wagner has acknowledged that one of its commanders was killed and a Russian helicopter was downed in “fierce fighting”, saying they had been attacked by around 1,000 fighters.<\/p>\n

Tuareg-led separatists claimed on Thursday they had killed 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.<\/p>\n

More than a decade ago, Mali’s central government lost control of much of the north following a Tuareg rebellion, which was sparked by a demand for a separate state.<\/p>\n

The country’s security was then further complicated by the involvement of Islamist militants in the conflict.<\/p>\n

When seizing power in coups in 2020 and 2021, the military cited the government’s inability to tackle this unrest.<\/p>\n

The new junta severed Mali’s long-running alliance with former colonial power France in favour of Russia, in a bid to quell the unrest.<\/p>\n

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Mali says it has cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine, after a military official suggested Kyiv had played a role in deadly fighting