Soldiers from the Malian army and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group entered Mauritanian territory on Sunday April 7. The incursion was carried out as part of an anti-terrorist operation about which neither Bamako nor Nouakchott have communicated officially but during which, according to information from RFI, three civilians were injured by bullets. This happened in the village of Madallah, near Fassala, Wilaya du Hodh El Chargui, in the south-east of Mauritania.
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They were looking for jihadists from the Katiba Macina of Jnim (Support Group for‘Islam and Muslims), linked to al-Qaeda. According to local sources – elected officials, residents and security monitoring professionals – contacted by RFI, the Malian soldiers and their Russian auxiliaries from Wagner crossed the Mauritanian border before 10 a.m. Then, they entered the village of Madallah and opened fire.
Three young civilians who were riding a motorcycle were injured. Homes were also damaged by the bullets. Four men were arrested and questioned by the Malian soldiers and their Wagner deputies, before being released.
Mauritanian soldiers then went to the village of Madallah to try to reassure residents and advise them to avoid traveling in this risky border area.
“ It is not an error, they were chasing terrorists », Confirms a Malian security source who assures that several jihadists were killed during the operation, without specifying their number or on which side of the border. The vast Wagadou forest – refuge area for Jnim terrorists, on the Malian side – is very close.
Incidents involving the Malian army and Wagner on the Mauritanian border are regular. Two years ago, a joint commission of inquiry was even set up after the death of several Mauritanian civilians. Requested by RFI, the embassy of Mauritania in Bamako did not comment and Nouakchott did not communicate officially. As for the Malian army, it did not follow up.
The army also did not wish to respond to the subject of the drone strike carried out on Sunday morning near Zorho, about a hundred kilometers north of Ber, in the Timbuktu region. According to several local security and civilian sources, this strike killed a woman and her two children. The army has not officially communicated about this drone strike.
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