Mali military junta – Artifex.News

Five Indian nationals kidnapped in Mali

admin — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 03:11:00 +0000

Mali, currently ruled by a military junta, has been struggling to contain surging unrest blamed on criminal groups and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Gunmen have kidnapped five Indian nationals in Mali, their company and a security source said Friday (November 7, 2025), as the west African country reels from mounting unrest and jihadist violence.

The workers were kidnapped Thursday (November 6) by gunmen near Kobri, in western Mali, the security source told AFP on condition of anonymity, saying they were employed by a company that is working on electrification projects.

“We confirm the kidnapping of five Indian nationals,” a company representative told AFP.

“The other Indians working for the company have been evacuated to Bamako,” the capital, he added.

No group has claimed the kidnappings so far.

Mali, currently ruled by a military junta, has been struggling to contain surging unrest blamed on criminal groups and jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The security situation has exacerbated an economic crisis in the impoverished country, where the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has imposed a suffocating fuel blockade.

Kidnappings targeting foreigners are common in the country, which has been plagued by coups and conflicts since 2012.

JNIM jihadists kidnapped two Emirati nationals and an Iranian near Bamako in September.

The victims were released last week for a ransom of at least $50 million, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Published – November 08, 2025 08:41 am IST

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Russia’s Wagner admits severe losses in Mali battles

admin — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 19:52:00 +0000

This undated photograph provided by the French military shows three Russian mercenaries, in northern Mali.
| Photo Credit: AP

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said on Monday it had suffered severe losses, including a commander, during battles with separatist forces in northeast Mali last week.

The West African nation, which has been actively fighting insurgent jihadist and separatist forces in its north for over a decade, turned to Wagner for support after a military junta came to power in 2020.

From July 22 to 27, the Malian armed forces and fighters from Wagner’s 13th Assault Squad “fought fierce battles” against a coalition of Tuareg separatist forces and jihadist militants, according to a statement from Razgruzka Vagnera, a Telegram channel linked to Wagner’s leadership.

Over a period of two days, the separatists “increased the number of massive attacks, using heavy weapons, drones and SVBIEDs (suicide car bombs), which caused losses on the part of Wagner and Malian army soldiers”, the statement said.

The commander of the 13th Assault Squad, Sergei “Prud” Shevchenko, was killed in action, it added, and his group’s final message was: “There are three of us left. We are continuing to fight.”

A spokesman for the CSP-DPA alliance, a coalition including mainly Tuareg separatist forces, claimed victory over Mali’s army and Wagner on Sunday.

Mali’s military leaders, who seized power in a coup, have made it a stated priority to retake the entire country from separatist and jihadist forces, particularly Kidal, a pro-independence bastion in the north.

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