Around 20 people were killed in northern Mali when the vehicles they were travelling in came under attack earlier this week with local sources saying Wagner mercenaries and Mali's army were responsible.

The attack took place near Gao, Mali’s largest city in the northeast region where armed rebels often stage attacks on the ruling military junta. A spokesperson for the military declined to comment on

The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch in December denounced the "atrocities" committed against civilians by the Malian army and its Russian ally Wagner, as well as by Islamist armed groups.

Malian Army late Saturday confirmed that insurgents killed at least 25 civilians and injured 13 others in an ambush of a military-escorted convoy near northeastern city of Gao on Friday. The army’s death toll differed from a local official’s account of the incident,