Russia’s Wagner has deadliest loss in Africa’s Sahel, highlighting the region’s instability

Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Dozens of Wagner mercenaries were killed by jihadis and rebels over the weekend in northern Mali in what one analyst describes as the largest battleground blow to the shadowy Russian group in years. At least two others were taken captive. The Sahel specialist, who says he counted bodies in a video of the aftermath, estimates that at least 50 Wagner fighters were killed in an al-Qaida ambush along the border with Algeria. Wagner confirmed that some of its fighters as well as Malian troops were killed in a battle with hundreds of militants. Al-Qaida asserted that 50 Wagner fighters were killed.