Maliʼs Tuareg rebels did not receive any outside help in their late July battles with the countryʼs army and the “Wagnerians”.
This was stated by the representative of the Tuareg rebel alliance in Mali, Mohamed Elmaulud Ramadan, writes Reuters.
"We can clearly say that we did not receive any help from the outside to conduct hostilities in Tinzahuaten," he declared.
Asked if Ukraine had previously helped the rebel movement financially or with training, Ramadan said: "No, we have not received any help from Ukraine."
What preceded
On July 28, it became known that the Tuareg rebels killed and wounded dozens of mercenaries of the PMC “Wagner”. During the shooting, the author of the well-known "Wagner" Telegram channel “Gray Zone” Nikita with the call sign "Belyi" [“White”] and a number of influential commanders were killed. The death of the Wagnerians in Mali was confirmed by the Russian Telegram channel “Razgruzka Wagner”, which is associated with the leadership of the PMC “Wagner”.
After that, the Tuareg rebels published an appeal to Ukrainians in the Ukrainian language. They expressed solidarity with Ukraine in the fight against Russia and offered to hand over the captured mercenaries of the PMC "Wagner".
On August 5, Mali severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine. The transitional government was outraged by the words of the representative of Ukrainian intelligence Andriy Yusov, which allegedly indicated support for the Tuareg rebels — in one of his broadcasts, Yusov said that the Tuareg rebels "received the necessary information that allowed for a successful operation against Russian war criminals."
The agency also accused the Ukrainian government of aggression and undermining the sovereignty of Mali. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called this step "short-sighted and hasty". Following Mali, Niger severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine on August 7, accusing Kyiv of supporting "terrorist groups."