Video of the plane crash carrying Wagner’s mercenaries

The junta did not communicate, but the pictures speak for themselves. A video of the crash of a Malian military transport plane on Saturday September 23 in Gao, north of Mali, has been circulating on social networks since Wednesday. We watch a Russian-made IL-76 land and then continue its maddening course until it runs off the runway. It disappears in a puff of dust and then explodes.

The plane belonged to the Malian army and was carrying soldiers from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, we learned on Sunday from a military source and emergency services. No official toll was reported, but an airport and diplomatic source said the human and material toll was high, without elaborating on the toll.

«The plane that crashed belonged to the Malian military and I can confirm that the plane was on its way to Kaohsiung with allies“, a Malian military officer told AFP. “On Sunday, investigators returned to the field. On Saturday evening, the injured whites were taken to an unknown destination by another plane», confirmed an airport source. “When the survivors arrived at Kavo yesterday, there were almost exclusively Russian soldiers from Wagner», confirmed a source close to the firefighters for his part.

Bilateral cooperation with Russia

The cause of the crash is unknown, but a spokesman for the German military, which is still in Kaohsiung as part of the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA), said the crash plane “IL-76 model built in Russia“. Gao military airport is used by the Malian army and its Russian allies and Minusma.

The military regime in power in Mali has pushed the French counter-jihadist force in 2022 and the UN force in 2023 both militarily and politically towards Russia. He claims to have enlisted the services of “Instructors» as part of bilateral cooperation with Russia and denies Wagner’s presence, although the presence of the Russian security team is generally claimed by other actors working in Mali.

The accident comes amid rising tensions between various armed actors in the region and the Malian military. Since August, the Timbuktu and Khao areas have been the scene of repeated attacks against military positions and civilians. As Minuzma retreats, the army and armed groups compete for control of the territory.