A separatist coalition engaged in fierce fighting with Malian military forces supported by Moscow-backed mercenaries in northern Mali on Friday, according to both sides and local sources.

The deadly confrontation involved the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a separatist group, and the Africa Corps, a paramilitary force run by Moscow. The clashes follow a recent surge of attacks against the Malian army.

In a statement released on Friday, June 13, the FLA claimed to have killed several dozen African Corps fighters. “Around 15 bodies were left abandoned on the battlefield,” the group said, while acknowledging the loss of three of its fighters and seven wounded.

The FLA also reported destroying 21 military vehicles, including armoured cars and armed pickup trucks.

Earlier, Mali’s military general staff confirmed that a logistics convoy had been ambushed at dawn on Friday in the Kidal region. In this area, the army has been conducting operations against armed groups. The statement said 10 enemy combatants were killed during the attack.

Mohamed Elmaouloud, a spokesman for the FLA, told AFP that their forces had “inflicted significant material damage and human losses” on their opponents.

Kidal, once a stronghold for pro-independence forces, was retaken by the Malian army in 2023 as part of a wider campaign against separatists.

The Africa Corps, which replaced the infamous Russian Wagner group, confirmed by diplomatic and security sources to have recently left Mali, continues to support several African governments under Moscow’s supervision.

“The fighters this Friday fought fiercely,” a regional elected official told AFP. “There were losses on both sides, but we must wait for definitive figures.”

Since 2012, Mali has been embroiled in violence involving insurgent groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as separatist and ethnic militias.

The FLA was formed late last year through the merger of several predominantly Tuareg factions.