“If the Russian mercenaries depart, we will return home,” declares Mosso, a Malian refugee in Mauritania, articulating a cautious optimism for repatriation. His hope surged following significant attacks in late April against the Malian army and its Russian allies from Africa Corps. These coordinated assaults, launched by the Front de libération de l’Azawad (FLA) separatists and jihadists from the Groupe de soutien à l’islam et aux musulmans (Jnim, an Al-Qaeda affiliate), delivered an unprecedented blow to Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in a 2020 coup. The attacks notably resulted in the death of the Defense Minister.
In Fassala, a Mauritanian locality near the Malian border, the actions of Russian paramilitaries have left a lasting scar on many refugees. They commonly refer to these forces as “Wagner,” recalling the private Russian militia, now known as Africa Corps, which has supported the Malian army in its counter-jihadist efforts since French forces withdrew.
“Goïta brought Wagner here”
Under a makeshift tent, seeking refuge from the Sahelian desert’s oppressive heat, Mosso voices his fervent desire for the “fall of Assimi Goïta,” the head of the Malian junta. “It was he who brought Wagner to our land,” the 57-year-old nomadic Tuareg herder, with his long white beard, asserts. He recounted fleeing his home in Mali’s central Mopti region three weeks prior when white men, whom he identified as Russian paramilitaries, arrived at his camp and abducted several men. A year ago, his own brother was killed by these Russian forces, witnessed by his then 14-year-old son.
Across Mali, civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire, accused of collaborating with opposing factions, and subjected to reprisals and abuses by the army, its Russian auxiliaries, or jihadist groups. On April 20, three civil society organizations, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), filed a complaint with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (CADHP) regarding alleged violations in Mali involving Malian armed forces and the Wagner group.
The sight of a Russian convoy departing Kidal, a strategically vital city in northern Mali that fell under Tuareg rebel control in late April, sparked a fragile optimism among many refugees that the paramilitaries might soon leave their homeland. Mosso is one of approximately 300,000 Malians who have sought refuge in Mauritania’s Hodh Chargui region since the conflict began in 2012.
The FLA and Jnim alliance questioned
About fifty kilometers from the border, the Mbera camp currently shelters 120,000 refugees who have escaped violence perpetrated by all belligerents: jihadists, the Malian army, Russian mercenaries, and various community groups. Wandering through the camp’s sandy pathways, Ahmed, 35, expresses his “hope for peace and a return to my country.” He, too, wishes for the downfall of the military rulers, who he believes “brought all the problems to the country.” This Tuareg man insists, “It is because of Wagner that everyone came here,” explaining his flight from the “amalgam” created by the Malian army and their Russian partners.
With an amiable gaze and skin weathered by the sun, Abdallah, a 77-year-old Tuareg refugee, does not celebrate the recent rebel offensive. “I am far from pleased that the FLA retook Kidal,” he confides. In his view, the alliance between the FLA and jihadists is a grave error: “For me, Jnim is a terrorist movement. Their objectives do not align at all with our ideology as moderate, pacifist Muslims.”
Since last October, blockades imposed by Jnim jihadists on Malian localities have triggered a new wave of refugee arrivals in the region, encompassing nearly 14,000 people, predominantly women and children, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Fears of a new refugee influx
Recent hostilities in Mali have raised concerns among humanitarian organizations about a fresh surge of refugees into this arid region, where access to vital resources is already strained. Omar Doukali, UNHCR spokesperson in Mauritania, emphasized, “We are monitoring the evolving situation with keen attention and profound concern.”
While the Sahel has become a global epicenter of jihadist violence, Mauritania, a vast desert nation of 5.5 million inhabitants, stands out for its remarkable stability. However, the presence of over 300,000 Malian refugees creates pressure “on pastures, water resources, and all basic services, including healthcare,” notes Cheikhna Ould Abdallahi, mayor of Fassala. His commune hosts 70,000 refugees, and he is deeply worried about the intensifying conflict in neighboring Mali.
The situation remains more uncertain than ever. The FLA has declared its intention to capture major cities in northern Mali and predicts the fall of the ruling junta in the face of its offensive. Holding her one-year-old daughter, Tilleli, 22, recounts her escape from Mali a month ago after Russian forces and the army looted and burned her village in the central Mopti region. “I can only return home after Wagner leaves my country,” she asserts, adding with a sigh, “I don’t have hope that peace will come anytime soon.”
