In northern Mali, Tuareg separatists have accused the Malian army and the Russian paramilitary group Wagner of causing the deaths of seven Chadian and Nigerien civilians in drone strikes on the Algerian border.
The Permanent Strategic Framework , an alliance of armed rebel groups mostly consisting of Tuaregs, made these accusations public on Wednesday. According to the CSP, on Tuesday night to Wednesday, « the Wagner-FAMA (Malian Armed Forces) terrorist coalition carried out drone strikes on a fuel point in Talhandak, » a strategic village located in the vast desert expanses of northern Mali.
These attacks reportedly resulted in the deaths of seven individuals of Chadian and Nigerien nationalities, as well as others still trapped under the rubble.
For several years, the persistent crisis in Mali has been largely attributed to the activities of Algerian security and intelligence services, suspected of seeking to annex northern Mali to form a buffer zone.
In response to these actions, Bamako has decided to terminate the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, stemming from the Algiers process and signed in 2015 with Tuareg rebel movements.