Trent Barr

Latin America Desk Chief

With years of specialized training, Trent brings deep expertise to his role as the Latin America Desk Chief for Atlas News, where he provides critical insights and analysis on regional developments.

Good morning, and welcome to The Situation Room. Today we’re getting into:

A disputed claim by Wagner involving the recovery of 84 bodies of fallen soldiers near Tinzaouaten and the death of captured mercenaries, an attack by a splinter faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia known as the Estado Mayor Central (FARC-EMC) which left 17 civilians injured, and a recent joint operation between the Ecuadorian military and police force in Durán, a city rife with criminal activity.

Lets get into it!

Mali: Rebels Dispute Claim Wagner Retrieved Russian Bodies From Tinzaouaten

By: Bianca Bridger, Africa Desk Chief

The Strategic Permanent Framework for the Defence of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA) has today released a communique disputing the recent statement disseminated by Russian mercenaries in Mali that the bodies of 84 fallen Wagnerites killed at the end of July near the commune of Tinzaouaten were retrieved.

The communique also disputed the additional wagner claim that Russian mercenaries captured by group after the battle of Tinzaouten had been killed.

"Regarding the Russian prisoners of the Wagner group captured in combat, the CSP-DPA reassures public opinion and their families that they are safe and sound and remain prisoners in its hands to this day," the communique said.

On October 9th, a Telegram message from the pro-Wagner channel 'Unloading Wagner' was shared into the 'Departmente' Telegram channel–a group closely linked to Russian mercenaries in Mali.

"Yesterday, the operation to return the bodies of our brothers, who heroically fought against Islamists who outnumbered them many times over in July 2024, was successfully completed," the message said.

Continuing, "The Wagner PMC convoy passed through the most difficult sections of desert terrain teeming with Azawad militants. Despite the terrorists' constant attempts to counterattack, the mission was accomplished."

In its own statement, the CSP-DPA announced it "formally denies any information tending to credit the thesis conveyed of recovery of the mortal remains of the mercenaries."

"It should be noted that in anticipation of this operation, the CSP-DPA had already taken all appropriate provisions regarding the remains of the Russian Wagner mercenaries. Regarding the FAMAs (Malian military personnel), whose bodies could be identified among the Wagners, were burned and buried on site," the statement said.

Also highlighting the Wagner convoy's alleged war crimes as it attempted to reach the commune of Tinzaouaten last week, the CSP-DPA outlined, "Throughout its journey, the heavy convoy shone above all by the execution of its usual methods of serious crimes ranging from the poisoning of wells, summary executions of civilians including an old woman, trapping of objects, slaughtering the livestock to the bombing of a school in Inakarot. All these crimes are recorded at the expense of the Bamako junta."

Confirmed by independent analysts were the claims of the killing of an elderly woman, trapping of objects, the school bombing at Inakarot and the slaughter of animals of locals.

The claims regading the poisoning of wells is likely to also be true, as Wagner mercenaries have been confirmed doing so in the previous months.

The contradictory claims regarding the bodies of the Tinzaouaten ambush victims remains contentious, however.

In spite of the two groups contradictory claims, what can be proven is that the Wagner-FAMA convoy did fail to achieve their primary goal of capturing Tinzaouaten. In a little over a week of venturing around in the northern Malian desert, criss-crossing between Tuareg territory and Islamic militant territory, the convoy lost several vehicles to thick sand, and was forced to spend three days at Inakarot to receive additional supplies after running out of water.

Regardless of the claims about the retrieval of the bodies of the fallen combatants, the failure to capture Tinzaouaten—the site of Wagner's largest defeat—can be seen as a major win for the Tuareg rebels, in terms of the psychological impact the inability to take the commune will have on the Russian mercenaries in the country.

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