Cracks Appearing in Algiers-Moscow Relations following Ukraine’s Support to Tuareg Separatists in Mali

Russia is reportedly angry with Algeria, its traditional ally, for failing to tip it off over the support provided by Ukraine’s military intelligence to a coalition of Tuareg separatists and jihadists who fought the Wagner group and Malian armed forces near Algerian border last week.

According to press reports, tensions running high between the two countries following the deadly ambush of Russian military group in Northern Mali.

The clashes took place in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a north-eastern town on the border with Algeria. The Malian and Russian forces were ambushed by Tuareg separatists and jihadists Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin while waiting for reinforcements, after retreating from Tinzaouaten.

Moscow is very likely to hold the ruling junta in Algeria accountable for the death of Wagner members and Malian allies. Algeria is also blamed for not honoring its military and intelligence cooperation with the Russians.

The Wagner group admitted it suffered heavy losses during fighting in Mali. It also said Wagner and the Malian armed forces had “fought fierce battles” over a five-day period against a coalition of Tuareg separatist rebels and fighters linked to al-Qaeda jihadi groups, who had used heavy weapons, drones, and suicide bombers.

The Mali government, which has been fighting various insurgencies in the north of the country for more than a decade, requested help from Wagner after a military junta took power in 2020.

Following the statement made by Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, acknowledging the support provided to Tuareg rebels and jihadists, Mali and Niger cut diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

Last April, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov visited Algiers to deliver a severe warning on behalf of leadership in Niger and Mali. The two Sahel countries decry Algeria’s complicity and ties with separatist movements and notably the Tuareg; armed groups including Iyad ag Ghali’s Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM); and radical political figures such as Mali’s Imam Mahmoud Dicko.

According to some analysts, Algeria’s borders with Sahel countries and with Libya will see more clashes amid heightened tensions as Russia is weighing all its options against Algerian rulers, while Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), has moved his troops to southwestern regions targeting the Ghadames-Dabdab border crossing with Algeria.