DAKAR: Mali troops and their Russian allies on Thursday battled separatist rebels near the border with Algeria, a spokesman for the rebels and a witness told AFP. The junta that took power in 2020 has made a priority of securing all of the country from separatists and Jihadists. It has claimed several victories in recent weeks and on Wednesday launched an offensive on Tinzaouatene, near the border with Algeria. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesman for the CSP-DPA mainly ethnic Touareg separatist alliance, said that Mali troops and “Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group” had “tried to take possession of Tinzaouatene, the last base of civilians who fled their abuses.” “We have inflicted many casualties on the Wagner mercenaries and the auxiliaries of the Malian army,” the spokesman added. The Mali army made no immediate comment, but a military source said the army was “continuing to secure national territory.” A civilian source speaking from the Algerian side of the border said that firing could be heard in Mali. Separatist groups lost control of several districts in 2023 after a military offensive that saw junta forces take Kidal, the pro-independence northern bastion and a major target for the government. There have been several accusations of rights abuses of the civilian population by the army and Wagner forces. Mali authorities have denied the allegations. Mali has been unsettled by violence by Jihadist and criminal groups since 2012. A junta led by Col. Assimi Goita took power in 2022 and broke the country’s traditional alliance with France, in favor of Russia.