Russian Wagner group reports massive losses in Mali

This undated photograph handed out by French military shows Russian mercenaries boarding a helicopter in northern Mali. © AP

Russia's Wagner mercenary group has said that it had suffered severe losses, including a commander, during battles with separatist forces in northeast Mali last week.

The West African nation, which has been actively fighting insurgent jihadist and separatist forces in its north for over a decade, turned to Wagner for support after a military junta came to power in 2020.