Rebels in Mali say no contact from Russia over fate of Wagner prisoners

DAKAR (Reuters) - Tuareg rebels in northern Mali say they have yet to receive any direct communication from Moscow over the fate of fighters from the Russian mercenary Wagner Group whom they took prisoner last month in a battle near the Algerian border.

A spokesperson for the rebel coalition, known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP), said the prisoners were being treated well and it was open to outreach.

"As a matter of principle, we're open to listening to all initiatives and proposals, but so far, there's been no negotiation," Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane told Reuters in an interview this week.

The Tuareg rebels have said at least 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers were killed in days of battle near the town of Tinzaouaten. Seven prisoners were captured, they said.

Ramadane said the rebels have been contacted by third parties such as non-governmental organizations and private citizens regarding the Wagner prisoners, but none acting directly on behalf of the Russian government.

The Russian foreign ministry and the Russian embassy in Mali did not respond to a request for comment on the fate of the prisoners. Following the death of Wagner's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin a year ago, the Kremlin reeled in Wagner and other mercenary groups under an umbrella organization known as Africa Corps.

Neither Mali nor Wagner have said how many troops they lost in the clashes, although in a rare statement on July 29 Wagner said it suffered heavy losses.

The Malian army has said its forces came under attack in the area and were surrounded, partly blaming the incident on bad weather.

Tuareg separatists launched an insurgency against the Malian government in 2012, demanding an independent homeland called Azawad. Their struggle later became entangled with an al Qaeda-aligned Islamist rebellion in the same region.

The Russians have been in Mali since the army, which seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, kicked out French and U.N. troops that had been involved in fighting Islamist insurgents for a decade, replacing them with Wagner.

Earlier this month, Russia's foreign ministry said it was working to free two geologists employed by a Russian company who were taken hostage by an Al Qaeda affiliate in neighboring Niger in July.

Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger's junta, like the military rulers in Mali and Burkina Faso, has kicked out Western forces and forged closer military and business ties with Russia.

(Reporting and writing by Jessica Donati; Editing by Daniel Wallis)