Maroc - ENG.UATV.UA - A La Une - 04/Aug 12:59

Reasons for the defeat of the “Wagnerites” in Africa are the same as with the Soviet army in Afghanistan back in the 1980s.

Mercenaries of the Russian private military company Wagner underestimated the enemy, which is why they were defeated in Mali by local Tuaregs. This was reported on the air of the FREEDOM TV channel by the Deputy Chairman of the SBU (2014-2015), Director of the Security Sector Reform Agency Viktor Yagun. He noted that there are several national groups in the world that are fighting to create their own state. The largest and most famous are the Kurds, who live in the historical region of Kurdistan, which is now part of four states: Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. There are more than 45 million Kurds in the world. Also known are the Pashtuns, an Iranian people living mainly on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, their number is 53 million people. The world knows less about the Tuaregs, a Berber people in African countries, there are only about 3.2 million of them. “The Tuaregs have been trying to create their own state on these lands for more than 100 years. I am telling this to understand that these are not some bandits or robbers, but a real ethnic group that has been moving towards its goal for many years. Now the Tuaregs are an active group on the border of Mali, Algeria and some other countries,” Yagun said. The situation with the defeat of the hyped Russian PMC “Wagner” by the Tuaregs in Mali shows that Russia is bluffing more than it can really help with the security of the same African countries. “I will not say that the Tuaregs are helped by their own land. But, nevertheless, they are a local people, they grew up in this environment. Therefore, they have hidden approaches, the ability to bypass foreign military units, clearly prepared escape routes. And the “Wagnerites” simply overestimated their capabilities, thinking that it would not be difficult for them to deal with the locals, supposedly because they wear slippers. This is roughly the same situation when the Soviet army once encountered rebels in Afghanistan who turned out to be much better prepared in some things, including working in the mountains,” the speaker explained. In addition, after the liquidation of the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in Russia and the transfer of the Wagnerites to the control of the Russian Defense Ministry, these mercenaries are demoralized. “The Russian African Corps has essentially been left without an ideological basis. Plus [after the defeat on the Ukrainian front] there are very few professional fighters left among the Wagnerites. Some of them continue to be used, including on Ukrainian territory, in the Kharkiv direction. I do not rule out that they will now be sent back to Africa from the Kharkiv direction. The Wagnerites are simply no longer effective; they do not have the same capabilities as before. Information is spreading quickly now, the situation in Mali will negatively affect the rektuting - well, who would want to join the African Corps, knowing that African tribes can capture them,” Yagun said. Recall that in Mali (a state in West Africa), Tuareg rebels are fighting to create an independent state of Azawad. On the side of government forces, the rebels are opposed by fighters of the Russian private military company “Wagner”. In one of the last battles, the Tuaregs destroyed the 13th assault detachment of the PMC “Wagner” - at least 17 “Wagnerites” were eliminated, including the author of the “z-channel” Grey Zone Nikita Fedyanin (call sign “White”). Several Russian mercenaries were captured. In addition, the rebels captured armored vehicles and trucks. Read also: This is a pivotal moment in the fight against Putin, – Ex-UK defense secretary on arrival of F-16s in Ukraine The post Reasons for the defeat of the “Wagnerites” in Africa are the same as with the Soviet army in Afghanistan back in the 1980s. appeared first on Freedom.