At least fifteen civilians, including children, have been killed in drone attacks in northern Mali.

Jeune Afrique reported on this.

On Sunday morning, August 25, a drone struck the village of Inkharibane in Tinzaouaten, Mali, twice. The attack killed 15 civilians, including 11 Tuareg children.

The attack took place in northern Mali, where in late July, the Malian army and Russian mercenaries of the PMC Wagner suffered a crushing defeat against Tuareg rebels.

A Tuareg spokesman said that they were attacked by “the army of the Malian junta and Russian mercenaries of the Wagner PMC.” In addition, he mentioned that a UAV attacked them from the territory of Burkina Faso, which borders Mali.

“First they targeted a pharmacy, then there were other attacks aimed at crowds in the vicinity,” their spokesman Mohamed Elmaulud Ramadan reported.

It is not confirmed what type of UAV was used in Tinzaouaten. However, Mali and Burkina Faso are armed with Bayraktar TB2 reconnaissance and strike drones.

In July of this year, the leaders of these countries, together with representatives of Niger, signed an agreement to unite in a “confederation” at a summit in Niamey.

The Alliance of Sahel States agreed to jointly develop economic sectors and severed its military and defense ties with France, seeking greater cooperation with Russia.

It is possible that the countries have also privately agreed to cooperate in the military sphere, which would include direct support with the involvement of the armed forces of the allied countries in combat operations.

The battle of Tinzaouaten

Previously, in the same city of Tinzaouaten, local separatist Tuareg forces inflicted significant losses on the Malian military and mercenaries of the PMC Wagner in the battles of July 25-27.

According to some reports, over 80 fighters were killed during the long battle, and another 15 were captured by local Tuareg fighters.

CSP-DPA fighters managed to destroy or capture a significant amount of equipment, such as Chinese VP11 armored vehicles.

In addition, according to Russian Telegram channels, Malian rebels managed to shoot down two Russian helicopters, one of which crashed and the other went down in an emergency.