Algeria calls on UN Security Council to halt 'mercenary activities' in Mali after deadly border attack

Algeria has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to halt "mercenary activities" in Mali following a deadly attack near its borders.

On Monday, Ammar Benjamaa, Algeria's representative to the UN, urged international accountability for "those responsible for a drone attack" that struck civilians in Mali's Tinzaouatene, near the Algeria-Mali border.

The attack claimed the lives of more than 20 Malian civilians.

"We need to stop the violations committed by private armies employed by some countries", said Benjamaa during the 75th-anniversary session of the Geneva Conventions at the UNSC. 

Though Algeria maintains good ties with Moscow, Benjamaa appeared to be hinting at the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation reportedly cooperating with the Malian army.

On 26 August, a spokesperson for a coalition of Tuareg-majority groups fighting for independence in northern Mali reported that drones hit a pharmacy and a group of people, killing 21, including 11 children, and injuring dozens.

Mali's army confirmed the drone attacks on national television, stating that "precision strikes targeted terrorists."

Located in the northern of Mali, Tinzaouatene has witnessed air attacks before, most recently in July, when Tuareg-led groups claimed to have killed many Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner mercenaries. The Malian army did not confirm the death toll at the time.

In Mali, military rulers, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, took power in 2020 and turned to Russia's Wagner Group for security assistance after expelling French forces in 2022.

However, the Malian army has maintained that Russian forces are not Wagner mercenaries, but trainers assisting local troops with equipment purchased from Russia.

In July, an AFP report confirmed Wagner's presence in the African country.

The Tuareg, an ethnic group fighting for independence since 2012, previously launched an insurgency in 2012, inflicting humiliating defeats on the army before agreeing to a ceasefire in 2014 and a peace deal mediated by Algeria in 2015.

However, after seizing power in a coup in 2020, the military rulers prioritised re-establishing sovereignty over all regions, including the key Tuareg stronghold Kidal region.

Last year, they annulled the Algiers Peace Agreement and resumed fighting after the ruling junta demanded the withdrawal of the 10-year UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSMA, and began taking over blue helmet bases in northern areas.

Algeria, which has repeatedly voiced concerns over the security of its borders with Mali, has offered to mediate another peace deal with the warring parties.

The North African state is also worried about the escalating situation in Libya, its eastern neighbour—another country where Wagner is reportedly active.

Earlier this month, the UN expressed concern over intense military movements by forces affiliated with Khalifa Haftar near the Libyan-Algerian border.

The Wagner Group has had a foothold in Libya since 2018.

To break its growing regional isolation, Algeria has established a three-state Maghreb union with Tunisia and Libya to discuss cooperation in energy, trade and security.

Morocco was not invited, as Algeria maintains no diplomatic relations with the country, citing security threats after Rabat's normalisation with Israel in 2020.