Mali finds evidence of Ukraine-trained terrorists operating in country

MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. Malian authorities have evidence that some of the terrorists carrying out attacks on the country were trained in Ukraine, Vice President of the Defense Commission of the country's Transitional Council Fousseynou Ouattara told TASS.

According to him, Malian authorities have identified individuals who were trained in Ukraine to operate kamikaze drones. "These young people are known, we have now added them to our lists and we have their names," Ouattara said.

He emphasized that all the drones used by the terrorists are of Ukrainian origin. Furthermore, the militants receive manpower support from Algeria and Libya, and are also being trained by specialists from the French Foreign Legion and Ukrainian instructors. The captured Tuaregs speak dialects different from Malian Tamasheq, which confirms that they come from Mauritania, Algeria, or Libya, he added.

It was previously reported that Malian armed forces, in coordination with their international partners, carried out active operations in the northern part of the country near the town of Anefis, killing more than 200 militants.

On July 4, Mali’s Ministry of Defense and Veterans Affairs announced that militant groups attacked military positions in Aguelok, Anefis, Gao, Kenioroba, Konna, Sevare, and Somadougou. In response, the Malian army, supported by its international allies, successfully repelled these assaults. While fighting has largely subsided elsewhere, clashes continue in the vicinity of Anefis, home to a significant military base.

The coordinated attacks were carried out by units of the Azawad Liberation Front and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen, a group linked to al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).