https://arab.news/mzw7c

Gruesome videos emerged this week of rebel fighters in Africa surrounded by dead bodies, while gunshots were audible in the background. The scenes were from a battle in northern Mali, where Wagner mercenaries, accompanying Malian troops, were ambushed by a coalition of Tuareg rebels and an Al-Qaeda affiliate known as JNIM. The videos showed Russian mercenaries being captured and vehicles set ablaze.

JNIM claimed the ambush killed 50 Russians and several Malian soldiers, while it also captured some survivors. Ukrainian intelligence allegedly aided the rebels. Wagner Group channels reported heavy losses, including the death of their commander and a prominent military blogger. While exact casualty numbers remain unverified, this attack marks one of the worst setbacks for Russian paramilitaries in Africa, as well as highlighting the extremely volatile situation in the continent.

I will not comment on the fact that Western-supported Ukraine is on the same side as an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Africa. While news of the event was celebrated in Western capitals, this video outlines the main issues faced in Africa and the shifting of geopolitical equilibrium. France, the UK and, more recently, the US are looking to stop China and Russia’s advance. This great power competition is causing great misery for the African people and is creating disastrous outcomes. Foreign interference and proxy wars, mostly conducted to access key resources and logistics routes, have grown in intensity in the past years.

There is, nevertheless, no doubt that something is changing. Indeed, there is a new vision........

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