In Mali, the rebels of the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP) are now fighting with drones. They used them on September 11, 2024 against a Malian army camp, about a hundred kilometers from Timbuktu. No casualties were reported. But it was on this occasion that the rebels revealed that they had drones and that it was the second time they had used them. A new addition to their arsenal, which could change the shape of the war between the Malian army, its Wagner auxiliaries and the rebels in the North.
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This is the Goundam camp, housing Malian soldiers and auxiliaries of Wagnerwhich was targeted. Without causing any damage, according to several local sources, who indicate that the shells fell right next to the camp. But the CSP rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes, carried out with a drone.
Unprecedented? Not quite. The rebels claim to have used it for the first time at the end of July in Tinzaouatène, during their only but important victory against the Malian soldiers and the Wagner group, who had lost several dozen men and were forced to turn back.
Drones « purchased » by the CSP
Where do these drones come from? How many do the rebels have? What model exactly? No details have been released. CSP spokesman Mohamed el Maouloud Ramadane only claims that they were ” purchased “, and assures that they were not supplied by Ukraine (” We have contacts but they have not given us any equipment “) – nor by the Jnim (Support Group for Islam and Muslims), linked to al-Qaeda. The jihadists, who are also fighting the Malian army in the north of Maliuse drones to film their propaganda videos. To date, Jnim has not claimed responsibility for any attacks carried out using drones.
According to several CSP fighters contacted by RFI, the rebels have had these drones for around ten months now. People had to be trained, grenades had to be made, it’s dangerous and it takes time. “, explains one of them. On their use in Tinzaouatène, at the end of July, the rebels assure that it was “determinant “, including “facing the armored vehicles “At the time, the CSP rebels had not communicated on the unprecedented use of these drones. Nor had the Malian army, which had exceptionally acknowledged “a significant number of human and material losses » (press release of July 29.) « Yet they even captured or shot down one of our drones. “, says a CSP executive.
Asked by RFI about the CSP drones, the Malian army did not respond.
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Malian army drones
The Fama (Malian Armed Forces) and their Wagner auxiliaries themselves use armed drones. The first Bayraktar TB2, made in Turkey and acquired by the Malian army, were received in December 2022. Other deliveries followed, always relayed on state media to illustrate the “ramp up ” of the army. These drones were, in fact, decisive during the capture of Kidal, a rebel stronghold, last November. The strikes forced the CSP men to withdraw, without even attempting ground combat.
After their defeat in Tinzaouatène at the end of July, the Fama and Wagner have increased their drone strikes in the area. One of them even caused 30 civilian casualties, including eleven children, which the Malian army denies, assuring that it did not ” destroyed » that of « terrorist targets “.
Also readMali: Army claims to have killed “terrorists” in Tinzaouatène, children among the victims
The Fama and Wagner use drone strikes intensively, with military success, but other abuses or blunders have been reported on several occasions. As in Douna, Douentza region, last March, where a dozen children died in the destruction of their Koranic school, or in January, when strikes on a wedding ceremony and then during a funeral killed 14 civilians in Konokassi, in the Ségou region.
Changing the contours of war
The use of drones by the CSP rebels, if it were to increase, could change the contours of the war between the Malian army, its Wagner auxiliaries and the CSP rebels. It could help to rebalance the forces, because until now, it is the Malian army and Wagner who dominate the terrain. Since the use of armed drones requires particularly reliable intelligence and careful targeting, it could also increase the risk for civilians, whom the CSP rebels have made it their mission to protect.
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