In “team house “ they interviewed one of the most famous south african (Rhodesian?) mercenary and this guy told another older story where the were annihilated in a similar ambush.
@@MattyTACsavage Everyone who fought them in Ukraine would disagree with you. Africa is a unique environment. You wouldn't say Tonga Tonga means green Berets suck?
France did not abandon Mali and never intended to fight the Tuaregs as is implied in the video and in the comments. The French army intervened at the request of the Malian authorities at the time to prevent Bamako from falling into the hands of an Azawad/Islamist coalition allied by circumstance. On the ground, the French army negotiated the withdrawal of the independence fighters from the conflict and its withdrawal from the armed struggle to concentrate on the fight against the Islamists. Assimi Goïta and his Malian soldiers did not accept being kept out of the negotiations and accused France of being neo-colonialists who wanted to divide Mali. Goïta took power, demanded that the French leave and called on the Wagner militias to replace them to resume the war against the Tuaregs. This is a reversal of alliance.
Anything you have never set foot in Mali speak as if you hold the absolute truth France after destroying Libya has created terrorist groups all over the African desert what could be more normal than to call them to come and settle the shit they caused
😂 France only wants the resources of Africa when niger stoped sending uranium the power crisis got worse, France sees Africa like a cup of star bucks coffee drink it, leave it, take this from one Africa, everybody talking about russa but they forget the crimes France had done in Africa shame on you
True the Tuareg committed a lot of atrocities not just in Mali but in the whole Sahel area they force anybody they come across to convert to Islam or else
An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Acting like colonial nations like France and other NATO members havent been exploiting Africa since colonialism is naive. Africans are finally making the right decision to remove the colonial nations from the continent. Less not act like Russia has the same history in the continent as Europeans
@@cainmathewson1857there's a chance that the local militias seeking freedom from colonial oppression may have fought in coordination with Al Qaeda affiliates. They are not allies, they are just working together as "the enemy of my enemy". One of these groups isn't so nice
I appreciate you making the distinction between known terrorist groups and ethnic groups fighting for their own independence
2 місяці тому+73
The distinction is not so clear, as the ethnic groups also use terror tactics and many of the terrorist groups have members from the local ethnic groups. It' very complicated...
@@zafraz1077 Palestinian militant groups mainly fight to destroy israel, not to gain independence per say, just look at the groups funding them and their goals.
@@zafraz1077 is run be an terror group that got elected into government, and they was branded terror group long before they found out they run for office and won, a terror group won a election fair and square my bare ass to ansaw honestly.
3:30 @PrestonStewart *No!* Don't try to insinuate that France viciously left Mali in a difficult under-defended position against its will and that only then did Mali, seeking aid, turn to Russia to fill a gap they didn't expected, because *the exact opposite is true* : The Malian *choice* of collaborating with Russia *precedes* the end of the French presence in Mali. *_Wagner_** promoted itself to the Malians* as a supposedly “non-colonial” alternative to French forces *while French forces were still present in Mali* , with placards, chants, paid influencers, threats to opponents, etc., *teaching them to hate the French as colonizers* , and Malians accepted this teaching, made the choice to believe this pitch and protested against the French presence in *THEIR* country. *Only then* did France decide to let the Malians take responsibility for *their* political choice, move its forces out of Mali *as they asked* and let the Malian work with _Wagner_ (somewhat submit themselves to the Kremlin) *as they asked.* Mali decided on this change *on its own.* It could just as easily have asked France, or anyone else, to eliminate _Wagner_ on its territory, considering this criminal organization a threat to its sovereignty, but it *decided* otherwise and *that's its right.* *France did not betray Mali.* It's extremely important to note that before all this, *Russia was the outside force supplying arms and aid to the rebels in the desert along with Algeria.* So now, *Russia has sent **_Wagner_** to fight the threat it has itself created.*
This is true. France did a horrible job at managing their shadow empire. Jacques Chirac warned about the sahel in 2008, "Without Africa, France will be relegated to the rank of twenty-third power,"
@@lino222 ya, mother Liberty told me religious freedom is necessary for progress and not to give 50% of what I own to my former enslaver lmao..y’all support jihadist terrorist.
I've seen the graphic videos online, and my god. It's like the Ambush on US troop in Niger, but at a Battalion level. One Wagner mercenary tried to fight back but he was gunned down
Yea but even then the US only lost like 4 guys and air support came pretty quickly this is the difference between America and Russia America always has air assets nearby Russia prefers taking enemy’s men to men not realizing air superiority is key
And people were always saying the French fight easy wars in africa, they make it look easy, big difference. I read a book about how Wagner came to be and many are veterans of the Russian VDV or Marines infantry and Special Forces, they are not all simple canon fodder as it is sometimes depicted.
Well, it's complicated. There's a sliding scale of expertise in the merc field, and even within individual PMCs sometimes. Wagner's best troops ARE what you describe, but they also fill out their lower tier jobs with plenty of guys hired from backs of bars, out of work blue collar guys, fresh kids looking for adventure, etc. (I think the "Grey" guy was one of those last, but I don't know his background) It was the same in Iraq back in the day: You had groups like Blackwater or Triple Canopy and so forth made of ex-SEALs, SF, Rangers, Marines, etc, and then there was the guys guarding shipments of air conditioners for the equivalent of mall cop pay.
It's just another day for Wagner in Africa, they have always taken L after L here outside of the times where they where working as a police force beating up unarmed civilians.
reminds me of a comment i saw under a video about wagner. "im just annoyed that the missile that killed pregozhin wasnt made by raytheon". made me laugh very hard.
@@nicechock most are in Ukraine or spread around the world, last official Wagner statements on the matter was their is one unit (Wagner claims their units consists of 5000 men) for the whole of Africa - also remember they are operating in more than 7 African nations none of these nations are near to each other. There is also the fact that a lot of Wagner's men got rolled into the Russian military's z force that serve on the frontline as veteran shock troops.
3:40 Actually, France didn't leave a power vaccuum there, but rather the Malian government. Operation Barkhane was a massive success and all of the Northern Malian territory was swept from the French Forces which fought Islamic extremists. The French cobducted a mini blitz within a short span of time. What lead to the rise of militants was bad management and incompetence of the Malian government handling the area. It was a succesaful operation from the French.
the Malian government should be blamed, but French deals that favored French companies when it comes to profiting from Mail's natural resources are partly to blame too. this is a whole mess and will continue to be a mess.
fuck all the colonial powers that turned the world especially Africa into a shit bowl, now we all just blame the people who live there. how convenient.
It's insane to think that Ukraine could even possibly have this kind of reach. They have a population less than Canada, with a fraction of the GDP, and are fighting for their very existence against one of the worlds top super powers. I find them to be an enormous inspiration about what it means to be free and fight for something that truly matters. Meanwhile, I can't believe how much Russia has sacrificed already and lost in both men, material, and reputation, over nothing but ego and a fear that the West would (for some stupid reason) have decided to invade Russia, despite the fact they had almost nothing we wanted and were more than capable of destroying the planet on the way out. It's insane. As for the specifics of each faction here, I would hazard a guess that there are really no good guys in that conflict. Anytime you have a conflict with multiple warring factions, you know that the suffering of the civilians is immense, as each time the balance of power swings, it leads to more death and reprisals on the civilians caught in the middle. If Ukraine is there, it's really just to find another way to stick a finger in Russia's eye, but sadly I don't think they will be helping the people of Mali in any meaningful way.
@@Madnock0 Under 1% of NATO equipment has been pledged to Ukraine, and less than 0.1% has arrived. Russia has an industry several times larger than aid to Ukraine currently.
Yes that gets their attention but a bowl of borscht and a fresh Adidas track suit is what really gets them out of cover. The scent of the vodka catches the common orc's attention but the bright colors and potential prestige of owning fine western good like a mid level clothing brand really gets the common orc into a frenzy.
There have been reports of Ukrainian SOF operating in Sudan and Syria helping local force against Russian forces and their allies, would not be surprised if they are doing it in Mali.
Wagner still not using Air support while moving in with infantry is crazy. They chased them all the way north into the Algerian Borders this is somewhere even the French after a decade in Mali never were able to reach yet Wagner still didn’t realize what they were facing. I pray they learned their lesson and move forward accordingly Mali has been suffering from these groups for too long
There was a Mi-8 and Mi-24 as Air part of Conwoy. What propagandist is not going to tell you, that they were ambushed, and ambushers were coordinated by Ukrainian GUR. There are even pics of Mi-24 emergency landing. As info goes, 80 Wagnerians are KIA and around 20 are POW
OOOOKEY it's time I share my crazy "Tuareg encounter story" from my childhood. (Is a core memory of mine. Gotta put my hand in the fire for the Tuaregs here!) When I was 12 I went on an adventure trip through Morocco with my parents that kinda went sideways once: We were on a trip through the mountains near the border to Algeria. And pretty far down towards the Western Sahara. (Sidenote: Morocco is a pretty safe and "liberal" country. At least compared to literally every country around it.) And it is BEATUTIFUL!! BUT: The “authorities” in some of the rural parts...... we found ourselves on a long stretch of desert road towards the mountains. There we encountered a "police" traffic stop in the middle of nowhere. There was exactly one car in front of us. The police stopped it and proceeded to immediately cut open their tires and extort their money. When my stepfather saw they were (LUCKILY, FOR WHATEVER REASON) not really interested in us, we quickly drove away!! After this somewhat disturbing experience, we looked for a different route back. Had to go through the mountains. So there we are. A little family. Alone in the mountain passes. In contrast to most passes in morocco, those passes were quite wide streets. And the view down the cliffs towards the desert was STUNNING! U could see for miles! And there was no car, no nothing up there! Absolutely NO ONE on these streets. NO car passed us for all this time. If there would have been someone coming, you could have seen them for miles! So we parked. Got out. And went to take in the view. YET SUDDENLY as we turned around: A Tuareg literally SPAWNED IN!!! He had a white and blue traditional gown with a dark blue turban covering his whole face. Hands behind his back. Looking at us. NO Idea where tf he was coming from! Open space for hundred of meters! Still, he silently snuck up on us. He didn't speak and didn't move. He did not respond either. Then, he made a rather elegant gesture to follow him. And as he turned around, we saw he was holding a literal SWORD behind his back! He walked slow and calm. My stepfather followed him and kept a safe distance between him and us. WE HAD to follow him, btw. It was the only way back to the car. As we got back to the car, we had a freaking "movie moment" I WILL NEVER FORGET!!! Behind every freaking rock, suddenly there appeared a blue robed Tuareg with rifles that looked like old hunting rifles. They were not threatening us. Or pointing at us. Just standing there eerily. Surrounding us. Everywhere. We were REALLY NERVOUS!!!!! Our silent “Guide” could apparently tell! He removed his face cover. And revealed: A really warm grin! It was a weathered, older man. I remember it very clearly because his genuine smile really deescalated the situation a little!! He then proceeded to tell my stepfather something in Arabic about "the police" (as he could somewhat decipher). And then OFFERED his fucking sword to my stepfather as protection!!!! (WHICH HE UNFORTUNATELY RECLINED!! AND THE WHOLE THING ALSO PROBABLY WOULD HAVE GONE BY WAY FASTER IF HAD JUST TAKEN THE SWORD INSTEAD OF TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT HE DOES NOT WANT IT 😅) The Tuareg then tried to explain to us the way out of the mountains and apparently said he "protect us from the police." Rather shook from this experience, we made a pretty fast exit out of the mountains! So NOT ONLY did these armed Tuareg not harm us, or extort us for a quick and easy score in the middle of nowhere. They seemed genuinely worried about us “stupid tourists” getting into trouble. And tried to assist. Not really your typical "extremism group" behavior if u ask me. We later learned that these Tuareg we met have lived in this area for generations and were being prosecuted by the Moroccan and Algerian government. And basically all they wanted was to be left the f*** alone and also maybe not get kicked out of the rural souks if they come there to sell their fabrics and clothes. Would therefore never put them into the same boat as other extremists! (Disclaimer: Experiences may vary. And times may have changed.)
Wowww!!!! EPIC Story,, and thank God they're good - decent men and tryed to help you guys,, but still that had to be so terrifying!!! I cannot imagine. You're a really great story teller as well lol,, the entire time reading I'm just visualizing it and the scenario in my mine. Thank you for sharing!!! And God Bless
On Monday, 48 hours after the battle, Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence service (GUR), made a statement that did not go unnoticed. During a broadcast on a local TV channel, he suggested that his services were collaborating with the rebels operating in northern Mali
It would be interesting how he describes "collaboration". What extremely scarce resources would Ukraine send to Mali, instead of using those resources for the defense of their own country?
@@ArchOfficial you gotta use your brain bro, a human can provide incomplete information they heard 2nd hand, and when you look at the OP's profile to see their activity history it shows that their other comments are fair and balanced and objective without bias towards any side, also th account is 16 years old rather than 1 or 2 years old or less that most active bot accounts are
@@PrestonStewart Ukraine “affiliating with ALQD” isn’t that far fetched I remember 2021 PBS- state media “public broadcasting” did a full puff piece for “former” AL QDA leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani,
Hey man. Your channel is great. So refreshing to hear a rational, as-unbiased-as-it-makes-sense-to-be take on world events. Your camera's auto focus has trouble deciding what is more interesting-your face or the blue-lit shelving behind you. I'd suggest configuring a distance-based manual focus setting or softening/dimming the blue light(s), but those are just guesses because I'm actually an idiot irl. 🤡📚
The ole the enemy of my enemy is my friend adage. That being said, fighting Taureg in the Sahara is not a good idea. There was a video making the rounds a few momths ago that showed those guys loading up for some sort of combat and they roll hard. You want to fight Gurkas in the mountains of India? Yeah its like that. The Taureg are the Fremen of Dune.
Ukrainian here. When I heard you mentioning possible Ukrainian involvement I thought “come on, man, stop pulling in this subject here”. But then when I remembered that our GUR service recently blew up a russian base in Kuweires in Syria, I kind of changed my mind…
@@therealjoebiden5135 Yes. Every single person in Ukraine is Jewish. All hail Ukraine - the second Israel! Wait a second, I thought Russia was supposed to be fighting Nazis? Now you're telling me that Russia is the one who wants to exterminate the Jews, not Ukraine? This is very confusing.
Curious how you feel about your special forces being used overseas in conflicts that literally don't matter. When Ukraine has massive manpower issues at home. The war is turning badly in Russia's favor, and these guys are off playing navy seal in the desert thousands of kilometers from home where they are desperately needed? Like, what impact does this have on the Russian war effort in Ukraine? Would you rather these guys be in Ukraine fighting? Or would you rather them be off in Africa fighting a fucking proxy war with Wagner. I can see it now, 40 years from now, Russia inevitably wins this war. "What did you do when the Russians came?" Ukrainian regular "I held the line with FABS dropping all around me wiping out my buddies" Ukrainian Special Ops "I was in Africa when the front line broke and Russia took everything East of the Dnieper and Odessa".
I was with the French army in Mali. It is strange they suffered so many casualties from the Tuaregs. The French in 10 years had les then 60 casualties. If you move with vehicules in a Y formation there is stil plenty of time to reorganize when the contact starts
@@nicechock There's literally video footage of both the fight and the aftermath. And even Wagner themselves admit they got absolutely annihilated there.
That is the difference between East and West my friend. We train, equip and prep for any possible scenario. When we take contact we are trained to stay calm and handle it and we always make sure we have fires available. Russia, for its part, doesn't do any of those... even for Wagner, who are supposedly better fighters than pretty much all Russian forces.
It's pronounced "Twah-reg," not "Too-reg." I have only met a few Tuaregs, but they were impressive men; tall, handsome and intelligent. The Sahara is not for sissies. It's amazing that this tribe has survived for millenia in that harsh environment. I would not want to have to go up against them.
I watched a documentary about the Tuaregs years ago, this English guy was taking a tour across some of the hottest places in the world, in Northern Africa, with scorching hot winds, sandstorms and quicksands, no landmarks just endless dunes, travelling by memory and stars, it looked like hell on earth and took a couple of days of walking and camel riding. The two guys that guided him through the desert, after arriving at the destination, proceeded to turn back around and headed back into it without even taking a break, even the guy was shocked. Tough dudes.
Correction (minute 4): severe oversimplification: first the legal government came under pressure under the attacks of these groups, especially the IS/Al Quaida groups, so France intervened to also protect europeans (and maybe their Uranium mines?). After stabilization this forces were replaced by troops of the afrikan union and UN. Then we had same shit like in all of this countries down to Sudan: military coup, expelling all foreign troops from their country and call Wagner. In Mali the last UN troops saw the Wagner guys come in and settling not far from them at the only airport in the north east (rebel region). Cheers
The claim that Ukraine is fighting Wagner in Mali seems rather odd. Ukraine is throwing everything they have into the fight against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and I don't see any benefit to Ukraine for any involvement in Mali. I can see, however, that Russia might want to use the Wagner losses to generate more support for Russia's attack on Ukraine, and this could be the impetus for such claims of Ukraine support. Also, the rebel groups in Mali might also want to generate sympathy and support for their cause by appearing to be standing close to Ukraine. I just don't see any benefit for Ukrainian forces to be in Mali, even if on holiday.
From an African perspective it really sickening me that the West will rather support terrorists in Africa then to trade with us , then you wonder we we prefer Russia or China as allies
It is not odd at all if you look at it from another angle.. The reason Wagner et all are involving themselves in Africa is to to gain resources for Kremlin in exchange for keeping the local leaders in power. Ukraine has nothing to gain as such in Africa, BUT denying the enemy reaching their goals can be as important as meeting your own goals. A couple of hundred men (at most) will not have a strategically significant impact on the fronts in Ukraine, but if the same men can disrupt the Russian "gold for protection"-scheme, that can make a difference on the strategic level.
I can explain this to you. Special Forces are largely useless in a real war. The missions that they are suitable for, to exploit their training etc, are EXTREMELY limited. This was true 20 years ago, 40 years ago, and even during WW2. The modern special forces or special operations, are units that have largely been tuned to fight insurgency, or low intensity conflicts. Where they have the expectation, or capability to move freely and largely unseen. In Ukraine, there is very little opportunity for mission profiles like this. Putting special forces/ops into the front line, is not going to give you any significant increase in capability. It's like putting an F1 car, in a demolition derby. These guys are going to be sitting in trenches, waiting for artillery or drones to fall on them. They might be slightly more capable in a gun fight, but what is the actual likelihood that they will be involved in a gun fight while sitting in a trench line waiting for a FAB to drop on them? However, if your special forces and ops feel like they are too important to be used in their own country, defending their homeland, they might complain. If they have enough clout, they might get shipped overseas to a low intensity conflict that has absolutely zero bearing on the real war. Where they can be "high speed, low drag" and fight a mercenary group that almost 2 years ago was active in the war in your country. So it's pros and cons. Ukraine needs men desperately to hold the front lines. They have special forces and ops that could do it, but someone thinks they are too valuable to waste as cannon fodder on the front lines holding trenches until those trenches are blown up by artillery, drones, and 3000 pound glide bombs. So instead, they send their best trained soldiers to fight in the desert to get revenge on a mercenary company. While their country is losing the war at home. It's all for propaganda. "Oh, we're getting run over in Ukraine, but look over here, we killed a bunch of Wagner guys in Africa!"
I think it’s French Special Forces. They have the motive and the resource’s to do so. Do a photo op with a Ukrainian flag and keep everyone guessing. Why would they make a statement saying we’d love to give these prisoners to you if the Ukrainians were already there?
The Tuareg are desert Bedouin who have two traditional sources of livelihood: Goat herding. And caravan transport of "goods" across the desert.... Traditionally Human goods. This just looks like centuries old best business practices of shopping around for the best price for newly acquired "goods" on hand.
lmao this is some supreme Russian cope. Whenever you guys get blasted by some "inferior" force, you just blame it on NATO so you can pretend that you are still a world power.
Mr Stewart I'm not going to lie this is probably just an issue for me but for the first time I almost considered slowing down your video and listening to it on X 0.75 in order to capture all the insane details that you are dropping. Not telling you to change your format or how to do things differently but this was a lot to take in and the fact that you covered it in 17 minutes. 😲 🤯
Preston Stewart, Task and Purpose and Ryan Macbeth are the holy Trinity of content creators for me. I appreciate your careful approach to topics. Just my opinion.
Task and purpose? The dude who does videos for defense contractors like Raytheon and claims non bias even though he has hard opinions in videos over a year old?
@shawn7889 task and purpose said he has bias due to him being in the military he admits it whether it'd bias or not he has very interesting videos tho I do think Preston is the best nonbiased source
I’ve been seeing these videos all over a couple gore pages I follow for shooting videos and war updates from front line perspective. Been hoping to see you cover this and am glad I wasn’t disappointed. Definitely the first news I’ve seen on it and most likely the only news I’ll see on it.
Yep, there is probably very few terrorist/rebel/revolutionary (depending on which side you are on) groups around the world that did not at some point in time get US support, and probably none without any kind of external sponsor behind the curtain.
Either you are ignorant or lying. Al Qaeda didn't even exist when the Mujahideen fought against the Soviet invaders. Also there's no evidence that the US directly supported the group that would later become Al Qaeda.
Considering Al-Quaeda didn't exist in the 80's i'm gonna have to call Bullshit. The US was working with the Mujahadeen, which had many different people and many different groups fighting for many different reasons.
As a 91-B volunteer participant in CJTF-OIR who was stationed in Iraq, I could never have imagined that one day "Allahu Akbar" would sound so sweet to me
Very good breakdown from you and the team, especially helping clarify the difference between groups, because far too often people paint various groups or causes under a single brush and there are a lot of nuances to understand if you ever hope to address any issue.
Had to stop after 1 minute, because it was obvious that this was gonna be profound. Might be the first analysis of the event I found where I can actually learn something I didn't know already.
The Tuareg fighters (not rebels) are supported by the Algerian army, since the Tuareg population in Algeria (with family bonds to the one in Mali) are to be considered as Algerian citizens. For Algeria, both Wagner and the Ukrainian mercenaries are not welcome at its border with Mali, therefore it's highly unlikely that the Tuareg are indeed having Ukrainians as allies in this messy war!
France did not leave; they were forced out after years of deliberate, coordinated resource stealing from the people of Mali. France created the vacuum you talk about by ensuring the people in that region were kept poor by propping up detectors that helped steal the country's resources. France has been there for years but has never been able to fight off Militants, so really, what vacuum do you speak of?
In Syria, they didn't attack us , they were close to base. Then us asked from Russians, are these they're people . They answered "no" . Us sent out 2 Apaches and just stormed with full ammo rockets . 350+ died from 500 . We thought they're just testing base.
The Russians and Syrians were moving to engage a force of Al Qaeda adjacent Syrian rebels. It just so happened that they were OUR Al Qaeda adjacent rebels, and we had troops/advisors/whatever stationed with them. So as they approached, they had no idea it was a US protected base.
@@mercb3ast Then Russia abandoned them to get obliterated by air power when the US asked Moscow if the Mercs were theirs. The Americans even delayed their attack in case they were Russians. But Putin denied it and so they were slaughtered.
That was due to the French after a decade had only pushed back the rebels and got nowhere trying to destroy them, while in less than 2 years Wagner has pushed them almost completely out of the nation of Mali.
@@ArchOfficial the French lighting striked small groups (remarked by some journalists as "blitzkrieg") these small groups turned on eachother and would often fight eachother, with the larger French military detachment leaving smaller Wagner groupings took over positions, also the French military spent a lot of their time training the Mali military, Wagner hasn't done this to any realistic degree yet, preferring to give pointer and tips to some Mali units that are fighting in the field next to them. With the French exit, the external pressure was gone, Wagner basically spends it's time shadowing the Mali military (rather than out hunting the groups while they are small and disorganised) this has caused the groups to gather large forces and sort of start working together - somewhat. However Mali is militarily cracking the government is not collapsing yet, the current military dictatorship is intent to go down with the ship and have made it a point to fight on even when it's military would be spent, that hasn't happened yet - part of the reason why was the French involvement and now Wagner assistance keeping the Mali military somewhat alive, tho just barely.
Great video. Suchomimus channel on UA-cam used geolocation to show that it was likely the attack happened in two different areas using terrain in the background. So it might be plausible that the two forces indeed fought the same enemy in differing locations. Which, with the new information you presented is interesting to say the least.
It’s important to remember that in war there is no such things as “good guys” Regardless of how evil you view Russians or Wagner there were most likely 18 year olds who were killed in this battle which never hurt anyone & just joined because they were patriotic for their country. And this is coming from an Infantry Marine who deployed to 7 different countries. Nobody was a good guy in this scenario
After the horrific scenes from retaken villages such as buche, and from the satellite footage over occupied regions.... you cannot say this anymore, russia is definitively the bad guy.
@michaelthomas9020 incorrect, currently ukraine is the good guy. To pretend otherwise means you believe genocide and invasion is equal to self defence.
@@oralmorris-sr2ly It's actually the reverse. The French were trying to broker a political deal between the Tuaregs who have legitimate grievances and the Malian government, but the Malians don't want this. In the meantime the French did a good job clobbering djihadis, and they managed not to get ambushed like newbies, unlike Wagner.
@@adrien5834 ambush is possible when the turreg gets useful info from Ukraine and what type of deal was going to happen between the turreg and Mali maybe they would give them a peice of the land France was doing nothing just their for the exploitation of the resources
@@ledeodorant3129 Mali established by a coup and denying promised elections. Israel a 70yr trainwreck. Whaddabout your country? Holding fair elections supervised by the organisation of African states is a bit easier than searching the whole planet for the body parts.
it was just Syrian rebels fighting for freedom not ISIS bro, kinda has the same vibe...i dont know why Mali thought russia would be any better france lmao
@@raclark2730 France has historically never left a former colony peacefully. this is also pretty much the cause of the war in Vietnam. name a modern conflict Frances fingers have been all over it. all of there activism and grandstanding has historically only applied to other people
The Taureg are a very widespread, marshal tribe in the Sahel and Sahara. Large numbers of Taureg were employed by Libya's Khaddafi as his most effective shock troops and special forces. He lavished a great deal of money arming and training them. After he was killed, the Tuaregs who had been part of the Libyan security services took their weapons, a lot of gold, and a lot of equipment back to their homeland in the Sahara/Sahel and have been destabilizing the the entire West African region ever since.
I watched footage from the aftermath of the battle, and let me tell you there were a lot more than 25 deaths. It was ridiculous how many dead bodies were collected. I also saw the Mali fighters finishing off a soldier who was playing dead. Far as Russia giving reasons for the cause of the losses, I wouldn’t listen to a word those professional liars say.
Their column got eliminated through a series of ambushes. Those Touareg didn't stop and chase the surviving vehicles to various ambush positions and even push them to a jihadist group where the surviving vehicles got wiped out. The 13th detachment commander: "pond" were kia and an admin of a tg channel "greyzone" was kia also.
Good video. Appreciate you are trying to make sense of what is going on in Mali. Also, highly appreciate the absence of sensationalist rhetoric, or glee.👍
Had to stop after 8 minutes to digest all you said. Until now, perfect. I learned much, and a really consistent picture starts emerging. One IMPORTANT note tho: Wagner established a presence in Mali even when the French (and Germans) were still running the show. At that time the Ndaw junta was preparing for return to democracy. They made nice with Colonel ("it's always a Colonel" -- Luttwak) Goita who was Ndaw's second-in-command, Russia supplying arms, etc. Also agitated against "Western imperialism" as per their SOP. When Ndaw had negotiated a peace deal with the Azawadis and was acquiescing to protests demanding a more inclusive "interim parliament", Putin struck, and Goita/Wagner deposed Ndaw, kicked out the EU forces, cancelled the peace agreement with the berbers, and restarted the civil war. Wagner has committed their usual crimes since then, and Goita is basically running a typical junta, with the democratic transition effectively dead, protesters getting shot, villages burned, etc. So it's not that Wagner filled the power vacuum, they CREATED it. The French/Germans were getting ready to pack and leave anyway, because it seemed that Ndaw would successfully transition Mali to a peaceful democracy and unite the Berber and Army forces against the islamist threat (they also have some Boko Haram-affiliated cells in the southeast). Goita is a power-hungry colonel, while Ndaw was one of the precious and rare cases of a top dog politician who found the idea of tyrannical power and opportunities for corruption actually odious and wanted to retire ASAP. Together with Burkina Faso and Niger, they're trying to sell this as "pan-africanism" which presently fools many people (particularly Afroamericans), but it is safe to say that "Sahelian Panafrica" is a Wagner puppet state, and the locals are learning what that means the hard way.
This is not the first time Wagner has suffered serious losses in Africa.
Who said it was?
@@shawn7889 Just pointing out that they suck at fighting in Africa.
They suck fighting in general.
In “team house “ they interviewed one of the most famous south african (Rhodesian?) mercenary and this guy told another older story where the were annihilated in a similar ambush.
@@MattyTACsavage Everyone who fought them in Ukraine would disagree with you. Africa is a unique environment. You wouldn't say Tonga Tonga means green Berets suck?
France did not abandon Mali and never intended to fight the Tuaregs as is implied in the video and in the comments. The French army intervened at the request of the Malian authorities at the time to prevent Bamako from falling into the hands of an Azawad/Islamist coalition allied by circumstance. On the ground, the French army negotiated the withdrawal of the independence fighters from the conflict and its withdrawal from the armed struggle to concentrate on the fight against the Islamists. Assimi Goïta and his Malian soldiers did not accept being kept out of the negotiations and accused France of being neo-colonialists who wanted to divide Mali. Goïta took power, demanded that the French leave and called on the Wagner militias to replace them to resume the war against the Tuaregs. This is a reversal of alliance.
Its the truth 👏🏽
Anything you have never set foot in Mali speak as if you hold the absolute truth France after destroying Libya has created terrorist groups all over the African desert what could be more normal than to call them to come and settle the shit they caused
😂 France only wants the resources of Africa when niger stoped sending uranium the power crisis got worse, France sees Africa like a cup of star bucks coffee drink it, leave it, take this from one Africa, everybody talking about russa but they forget the crimes France had done in Africa shame on you
Really !?? Wow... can I ask are you from or living in this region??
Doesn't sound very different.
The enemy of your enemy is not always your cozy little fuzzy buddy, especially when there is Russians Africans, gold , gems and uranium involved.
True the Tuareg committed a lot of atrocities not just in Mali but in the whole Sahel area they force anybody they come across to convert to Islam or else
An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Acting like colonial nations like France and other NATO members havent been exploiting Africa since colonialism is naive. Africans are finally making the right decision to remove the colonial nations from the continent. Less not act like Russia has the same history in the continent as Europeans
I'm trying to figure out what you're getting at but for the life of me I can't figure it out
@@cainmathewson1857 Russia cares only about Mali, because of the resources.
@@cainmathewson1857there's a chance that the local militias seeking freedom from colonial oppression may have fought in coordination with Al Qaeda affiliates. They are not allies, they are just working together as "the enemy of my enemy". One of these groups isn't so nice
I appreciate you making the distinction between known terrorist groups and ethnic groups fighting for their own independence
The distinction is not so clear, as the ethnic groups also use terror tactics and many of the terrorist groups have members from the local ethnic groups. It' very complicated...
Soooo... Palestines? Honest question.
@@zafraz1077 Palestinian militant groups mainly fight to destroy israel, not to gain independence per say, just look at the groups funding them and their goals.
@@zafraz1077 is run be an terror group that got elected into government, and they was branded terror group long before they found out they run for office and won, a terror group won a election fair and square my bare ass to ansaw honestly.
@@zafraz1077Hamas is a terror group. The technically have independence, just without mass recognition. PA is for the Palestinians.
3:30 @PrestonStewart *No!* Don't try to insinuate that France viciously left Mali in a difficult under-defended position against its will and that only then did Mali, seeking aid, turn to Russia to fill a gap they didn't expected, because *the exact opposite is true* : The Malian *choice* of collaborating with Russia *precedes* the end of the French presence in Mali.
*_Wagner_** promoted itself to the Malians* as a supposedly “non-colonial” alternative to French forces *while French forces were still present in Mali* , with placards, chants, paid influencers, threats to opponents, etc., *teaching them to hate the French as colonizers* , and Malians accepted this teaching, made the choice to believe this pitch and protested against the French presence in *THEIR* country. *Only then* did France decide to let the Malians take responsibility for *their* political choice, move its forces out of Mali *as they asked* and let the Malian work with _Wagner_ (somewhat submit themselves to the Kremlin) *as they asked.*
Mali decided on this change *on its own.* It could just as easily have asked France, or anyone else, to eliminate _Wagner_ on its territory, considering this criminal organization a threat to its sovereignty, but it *decided* otherwise and *that's its right.*
*France did not betray Mali.*
It's extremely important to note that before all this, *Russia was the outside force supplying arms and aid to the rebels in the desert along with Algeria.*
So now, *Russia has sent **_Wagner_** to fight the threat it has itself created.*
@@brotherblaze8799 you are a special boy, just like your mother always told you...very special!
Well said
Facts
This is true. France did a horrible job at managing their shadow empire. Jacques Chirac warned about the sahel in 2008, "Without Africa, France will be relegated to the rank of twenty-third power,"
@@lino222 ya, mother Liberty told me religious freedom is necessary for progress and not to give 50% of what I own to my former enslaver lmao..y’all support jihadist terrorist.
I've seen the graphic videos online, and my god. It's like the Ambush on US troop in Niger, but at a Battalion level. One Wagner mercenary tried to fight back but he was gunned down
Yea but even then the US only lost like 4 guys and air support came pretty quickly this is the difference between America and Russia America always has air assets nearby Russia prefers taking enemy’s men to men not realizing air superiority is key
what website you using?
USA lost 4 guys then. Russia lost 100 plus
My guy resorted to throwing a rock at three dudes with AK’s
Where can 1 find the footage
And people were always saying the French fight easy wars in africa, they make it look easy, big difference. I read a book about how Wagner came to be and many are veterans of the Russian VDV or Marines infantry and Special Forces, they are not all simple canon fodder as it is sometimes depicted.
Well, it's complicated. There's a sliding scale of expertise in the merc field, and even within individual PMCs sometimes. Wagner's best troops ARE what you describe, but they also fill out their lower tier jobs with plenty of guys hired from backs of bars, out of work blue collar guys, fresh kids looking for adventure, etc. (I think the "Grey" guy was one of those last, but I don't know his background)
It was the same in Iraq back in the day: You had groups like Blackwater or Triple Canopy and so forth made of ex-SEALs, SF, Rangers, Marines, etc, and then there was the guys guarding shipments of air conditioners for the equivalent of mall cop pay.
Its a devastating defeat for wagner and russia. Since russia took control after pringles died
It's just another day for Wagner in Africa, they have always taken L after L here outside of the times where they where working as a police force beating up unarmed civilians.
reminds me of a comment i saw under a video about wagner. "im just annoyed that the missile that killed pregozhin wasnt made by raytheon". made me laugh very hard.
@@brookwhiteman9810 Real
Are u high? 80 fighters? They have thousands
@@nicechock most are in Ukraine or spread around the world, last official Wagner statements on the matter was their is one unit (Wagner claims their units consists of 5000 men) for the whole of Africa - also remember they are operating in more than 7 African nations none of these nations are near to each other. There is also the fact that a lot of Wagner's men got rolled into the Russian military's z force that serve on the frontline as veteran shock troops.
3:40 Actually, France didn't leave a power vaccuum there, but rather the Malian government. Operation Barkhane was a massive success and all of the Northern Malian territory was swept from the French Forces which fought Islamic extremists. The French cobducted a mini blitz within a short span of time. What lead to the rise of militants was bad management and incompetence of the Malian government handling the area.
It was a succesaful operation from the French.
the Malian government should be blamed, but French deals that favored French companies when it comes to profiting from Mail's natural resources are partly to blame too. this is a whole mess and will continue to be a mess.
fuck all the colonial powers that turned the world especially Africa into a shit bowl, now we all just blame the people who live there. how convenient.
It's insane to think that Ukraine could even possibly have this kind of reach. They have a population less than Canada, with a fraction of the GDP, and are fighting for their very existence against one of the worlds top super powers. I find them to be an enormous inspiration about what it means to be free and fight for something that truly matters. Meanwhile, I can't believe how much Russia has sacrificed already and lost in both men, material, and reputation, over nothing but ego and a fear that the West would (for some stupid reason) have decided to invade Russia, despite the fact they had almost nothing we wanted and were more than capable of destroying the planet on the way out. It's insane.
As for the specifics of each faction here, I would hazard a guess that there are really no good guys in that conflict. Anytime you have a conflict with multiple warring factions, you know that the suffering of the civilians is immense, as each time the balance of power swings, it leads to more death and reprisals on the civilians caught in the middle. If Ukraine is there, it's really just to find another way to stick a finger in Russia's eye, but sadly I don't think they will be helping the people of Mali in any meaningful way.
Makes it easier when ot of the world is supplying their war industry for them.
@@Madnock0war is profitable.
@@Madnock0 Under 1% of NATO equipment has been pledged to Ukraine, and less than 0.1% has arrived. Russia has an industry several times larger than aid to Ukraine currently.
You are just indoctrinated into western rhetoric, so it makes perfect sense as to why you don't understand Russia.
Russia isn't a Superpower, they haven't been one since 1989.
Ukranians teach the rebels how to use vodka as bait to lead Wagner to the killing zone.
Yes that gets their attention but a bowl of borscht and a fresh Adidas track suit is what really gets them out of cover. The scent of the vodka catches the common orc's attention but the bright colors and potential prestige of owning fine western good like a mid level clothing brand really gets the common orc into a frenzy.
@@thomashaapalainen4108
Tongo tongo ?
The same way you would use baby to bait USA and friends to a kill zone, you baby Keller
Washing machines and toilets are more tempting.
There have been reports of Ukrainian SOF operating in Sudan and Syria helping local force against Russian forces and their allies, would not be surprised if they are doing it in Mali.
Wagner still not using Air support while moving in with infantry is crazy. They chased them all the way north into the Algerian Borders this is somewhere even the French after a decade in Mali never were able to reach yet Wagner still didn’t realize what they were facing. I pray they learned their lesson and move forward accordingly Mali has been suffering from these groups for too long
Yea this level of KIA would never happened if they were US troops you never wonder into enemy territory with no air support.
There was a Mi-8 and Mi-24 as Air part of Conwoy. What propagandist is not going to tell you, that they were ambushed, and ambushers were coordinated by Ukrainian GUR. There are even pics of Mi-24 emergency landing. As info goes, 80 Wagnerians are KIA and around 20 are POW
Wagner has air support
American units don’t always have air support overhead 😹🤣
@@ottobismarck8543 it was a beautiful site to see
i hope they dont learn from their mistake
OOOOKEY it's time I share my crazy "Tuareg encounter story" from my childhood.
(Is a core memory of mine. Gotta put my hand in the fire for the Tuaregs here!)
When I was 12 I went on an adventure trip through Morocco with my parents that kinda went sideways once:
We were on a trip through the mountains near the border to Algeria.
And pretty far down towards the Western Sahara.
(Sidenote: Morocco is a pretty safe and "liberal" country. At least compared to literally every country around it.)
And it is BEATUTIFUL!!
BUT:
The “authorities” in some of the rural parts...... we found ourselves on a long stretch of desert road towards the mountains.
There we encountered a "police" traffic stop in the middle of nowhere.
There was exactly one car in front of us.
The police stopped it and proceeded to immediately cut open their tires and extort their money.
When my stepfather saw they were (LUCKILY, FOR WHATEVER REASON) not really interested in us, we quickly drove away!!
After this somewhat disturbing experience, we looked for a different route back.
Had to go through the mountains.
So there we are. A little family. Alone in the mountain passes.
In contrast to most passes in morocco, those passes were quite wide streets.
And the view down the cliffs towards the desert was STUNNING!
U could see for miles!
And there was no car, no nothing up there!
Absolutely NO ONE on these streets.
NO car passed us for all this time.
If there would have been someone coming,
you could have seen them for miles!
So we parked. Got out. And went to take in the view.
YET SUDDENLY as we turned around:
A Tuareg literally SPAWNED IN!!!
He had a white and blue traditional gown with a dark blue turban covering his whole face.
Hands behind his back.
Looking at us.
NO Idea where tf he was coming from!
Open space for hundred of meters!
Still, he silently snuck up on us.
He didn't speak and didn't move.
He did not respond either.
Then, he made a rather elegant gesture to follow him.
And as he turned around, we saw he was holding a literal SWORD behind his back!
He walked slow and calm.
My stepfather followed him and kept a safe distance between him and us.
WE HAD to follow him, btw.
It was the only way back to the car.
As we got back to the car, we had a freaking "movie moment" I WILL NEVER FORGET!!!
Behind every freaking rock, suddenly there appeared a blue robed Tuareg with rifles that looked like old hunting rifles.
They were not threatening us. Or pointing at us. Just standing there eerily. Surrounding us. Everywhere.
We were REALLY NERVOUS!!!!!
Our silent “Guide” could apparently tell!
He removed his face cover.
And revealed:
A really warm grin!
It was a weathered, older man.
I remember it very clearly because his genuine smile really deescalated the situation a little!!
He then proceeded to tell my stepfather something in Arabic about "the police" (as he could somewhat decipher).
And then OFFERED his fucking sword to my stepfather as protection!!!!
(WHICH HE UNFORTUNATELY RECLINED!! AND THE WHOLE THING ALSO PROBABLY WOULD HAVE GONE BY WAY FASTER IF HAD JUST TAKEN THE SWORD INSTEAD OF TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT HE DOES NOT WANT IT 😅)
The Tuareg then tried to explain to us the way out of the mountains and apparently said he "protect us from the police."
Rather shook from this experience,
we made a pretty fast exit out of the mountains!
So NOT ONLY did these armed Tuareg not harm us, or extort us for a quick and easy score in the middle of nowhere.
They seemed genuinely worried about us “stupid tourists” getting into trouble.
And tried to assist.
Not really your typical "extremism group" behavior if u ask me.
We later learned that these Tuareg we met have lived in this area for generations and were being prosecuted by the Moroccan and Algerian government.
And basically all they wanted was to be left the f*** alone and also maybe not get kicked out of the rural souks if they come there to sell their fabrics and clothes.
Would therefore never put them into the same boat as other extremists!
(Disclaimer: Experiences may vary. And times may have changed.)
Wowww!!!! EPIC Story,, and thank God they're good - decent men and tryed to help you guys,, but still that had to be so terrifying!!! I cannot imagine. You're a really great story teller as well lol,, the entire time reading I'm just visualizing it and the scenario in my mine. Thank you for sharing!!! And God Bless
Thanks for posting!
Good story I felt like I was there
Great story thanks!
Thanks for that. Fascinating! Brave family. I bet you have a stack more stories to tell.
On Monday, 48 hours after the battle, Andriy Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence service (GUR), made a statement that did not go unnoticed. During a broadcast on a local TV channel, he suggested that his services were collaborating with the rebels operating in northern Mali
You provide no timestamps and no publications, which guarantees this is an AI-written bot message.
It would be interesting how he describes "collaboration". What extremely scarce resources would Ukraine send to Mali, instead of using those resources for the defense of their own country?
@@ArchOfficial you gotta use your brain bro, a human can provide incomplete information they heard 2nd hand, and when you look at the OP's profile to see their activity history it shows that their other comments are fair and balanced and objective without bias towards any side, also th account is 16 years old rather than 1 or 2 years old or less that most active bot accounts are
@@xp8969 I think I might be a Bot.
@@cherylk.2474there’s video of Ukrainian SOF in mail and sudan
Great work! Love the presentation of your videos my man!
Always appreciate the work you do!
Thanks and keep up the great work
Thanks a lot, really appreciate the feedback!
@@PrestonStewart Ukraine “affiliating with ALQD” isn’t that far fetched I remember 2021 PBS- state media
“public broadcasting” did a full puff piece for “former” AL QDA leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani,
Hey man. Your channel is great. So refreshing to hear a rational, as-unbiased-as-it-makes-sense-to-be take on world events.
Your camera's auto focus has trouble deciding what is more interesting-your face or the blue-lit shelving behind you. I'd suggest configuring a distance-based manual focus setting or softening/dimming the blue light(s), but those are just guesses because I'm actually an idiot irl. 🤡📚
😂😂😂 too funny
The ole the enemy of my enemy is my friend adage. That being said, fighting Taureg in the Sahara is not a good idea. There was a video making the rounds a few momths ago that showed those guys loading up for some sort of combat and they roll hard. You want to fight Gurkas in the mountains of India? Yeah its like that. The Taureg are the Fremen of Dune.
"war makes for strange bed fellows"
I would never fight a gurkha lol, they are real deal shpeal
_"If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha."_ - Sam Manekshaw
Every warlord nowadays is a freedom fighter
Might as well become a warlord.
They say that some used to make VW SUVs. Now this. smh
Branding is everything :)
@@weiss1377 😂😂
Tuareg are cool because my fav Mali blues band "Tinariwen" is made up of a few Tuareg freedom fighters who have pics of themselves with RPGs
Ukrainian here. When I heard you mentioning possible Ukrainian involvement I thought “come on, man, stop pulling in this subject here”. But then when I remembered that our GUR service recently blew up a russian base in Kuweires in Syria, I kind of changed my mind…
*Jewkrainian
@@therealjoebiden5135 Yes. Every single person in Ukraine is Jewish. All hail Ukraine - the second Israel!
Wait a second, I thought Russia was supposed to be fighting Nazis? Now you're telling me that Russia is the one who wants to exterminate the Jews, not Ukraine? This is very confusing.
Curious how you feel about your special forces being used overseas in conflicts that literally don't matter. When Ukraine has massive manpower issues at home. The war is turning badly in Russia's favor, and these guys are off playing navy seal in the desert thousands of kilometers from home where they are desperately needed?
Like, what impact does this have on the Russian war effort in Ukraine? Would you rather these guys be in Ukraine fighting? Or would you rather them be off in Africa fighting a fucking proxy war with Wagner.
I can see it now, 40 years from now, Russia inevitably wins this war.
"What did you do when the Russians came?"
Ukrainian regular "I held the line with FABS dropping all around me wiping out my buddies"
Ukrainian Special Ops "I was in Africa when the front line broke and Russia took everything East of the Dnieper and Odessa".
@@mercb3astsf aren’t used best on frontlines
@@mercb3astRussian bot
I was with the French army in Mali. It is strange they suffered so many casualties from the Tuaregs. The French in 10 years had les then 60 casualties. If you move with vehicules in a Y formation there is stil plenty of time to reorganize when the contact starts
I mean do you believe the news? I dont
@@nicechockdo you… think this attack on Wagner did not happen?
@@nicechock wagner themselves are saying they are getting smoked
@@nicechock There's literally video footage of both the fight and the aftermath. And even Wagner themselves admit they got absolutely annihilated there.
That is the difference between East and West my friend.
We train, equip and prep for any possible scenario.
When we take contact we are trained to stay calm and handle it and we always make sure we have fires available.
Russia, for its part, doesn't do any of those... even for Wagner, who are supposedly better fighters than pretty much all Russian forces.
It's pronounced "Twah-reg," not "Too-reg." I have only met a few Tuaregs, but they were impressive men; tall, handsome and intelligent.
The Sahara is not for sissies. It's amazing that this tribe has survived for millenia in that harsh environment. I would not want to have to go up against them.
Its impossible for American to check how things are pronounced
They have a collective IQ of 11
@@winkiiiie well its written tua then reg not tooreg. Kinda like hawk tuah and yes im being serious
I watched a documentary about the Tuaregs years ago, this English guy was taking a tour across some of the hottest places in the world, in Northern Africa, with scorching hot winds, sandstorms and quicksands, no landmarks just endless dunes, travelling by memory and stars, it looked like hell on earth and took a couple of days of walking and camel riding.
The two guys that guided him through the desert, after arriving at the destination, proceeded to turn back around and headed back into it without even taking a break, even the guy was shocked.
Tough dudes.
Real-life Fremen 😂
Correction (minute 4): severe oversimplification:
first the legal government came under pressure under the attacks of these groups, especially the IS/Al Quaida groups, so France intervened to also protect europeans (and maybe their Uranium mines?). After stabilization this forces were replaced by troops of the afrikan union and UN. Then we had same shit like in all of this countries down to Sudan: military coup, expelling all foreign troops from their country and call Wagner. In Mali the last UN troops saw the Wagner guys come in and settling not far from them at the only airport in the north east (rebel region). Cheers
Now these clowns are moving to Venezuela
Hear Hear
US Special Forces looking forward to meeting them, and engage them in a deep and meaningful conversation, errr debate, errr reeducation err......?!
They won't last long there ither...Wagner don't last long wherever they go
@@TheMidwesternViking brainless cannon fodder
@@generalwoundwort8191 I certainly hope so.
Very informative, thank you for getting this video out so fast!
The claim that Ukraine is fighting Wagner in Mali seems rather odd. Ukraine is throwing everything they have into the fight against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and I don't see any benefit to Ukraine for any involvement in Mali. I can see, however, that Russia might want to use the Wagner losses to generate more support for Russia's attack on Ukraine, and this could be the impetus for such claims of Ukraine support. Also, the rebel groups in Mali might also want to generate sympathy and support for their cause by appearing to be standing close to Ukraine. I just don't see any benefit for Ukrainian forces to be in Mali, even if on holiday.
From an African perspective it really sickening me that the West will rather support terrorists in Africa then to trade with us , then you wonder we we prefer Russia or China as allies
It is not odd at all if you look at it from another angle..
The reason Wagner et all are involving themselves in Africa is to to gain resources for Kremlin in exchange for keeping the local leaders in power.
Ukraine has nothing to gain as such in Africa, BUT denying the enemy reaching their goals can be as important as meeting your own goals. A couple of hundred men (at most) will not have a strategically significant impact on the fronts in Ukraine, but if the same men can disrupt the Russian "gold for protection"-scheme, that can make a difference on the strategic level.
I can explain this to you.
Special Forces are largely useless in a real war. The missions that they are suitable for, to exploit their training etc, are EXTREMELY limited. This was true 20 years ago, 40 years ago, and even during WW2.
The modern special forces or special operations, are units that have largely been tuned to fight insurgency, or low intensity conflicts. Where they have the expectation, or capability to move freely and largely unseen. In Ukraine, there is very little opportunity for mission profiles like this. Putting special forces/ops into the front line, is not going to give you any significant increase in capability. It's like putting an F1 car, in a demolition derby. These guys are going to be sitting in trenches, waiting for artillery or drones to fall on them. They might be slightly more capable in a gun fight, but what is the actual likelihood that they will be involved in a gun fight while sitting in a trench line waiting for a FAB to drop on them?
However, if your special forces and ops feel like they are too important to be used in their own country, defending their homeland, they might complain. If they have enough clout, they might get shipped overseas to a low intensity conflict that has absolutely zero bearing on the real war. Where they can be "high speed, low drag" and fight a mercenary group that almost 2 years ago was active in the war in your country.
So it's pros and cons. Ukraine needs men desperately to hold the front lines. They have special forces and ops that could do it, but someone thinks they are too valuable to waste as cannon fodder on the front lines holding trenches until those trenches are blown up by artillery, drones, and 3000 pound glide bombs. So instead, they send their best trained soldiers to fight in the desert to get revenge on a mercenary company. While their country is losing the war at home.
It's all for propaganda. "Oh, we're getting run over in Ukraine, but look over here, we killed a bunch of Wagner guys in Africa!"
@@mercb3ast That's a new spin on the Kremlin verbatim.
Sour, the fox said about the grapes.
Did you fail the SF acceptance test?
@@johanmetreus1268 Thank you for explaining this view point. I hadn't considered these factors.
I have just checked the raw footage of the aftermath and is as bad as you can imagine.... shocking.
Where di you find that footage?
No tears were shed.
So you support Islamic terrorists now?
I think it’s French Special Forces. They have the motive and the resource’s to do so. Do a photo op with a Ukrainian flag and keep everyone guessing. Why would they make a statement saying we’d love to give these prisoners to you if the Ukrainians were already there?
@adamkhan4451 "definitely" == think "finite."
@adamkhan4451 don't think so...but i'm expecting some French moves soon, right after the Olympics ends.
The Tuareg are desert Bedouin who have two traditional sources of livelihood:
Goat herding.
And caravan transport of "goods" across the desert....
Traditionally Human goods.
This just looks like centuries old best business practices of shopping around for the best price for newly acquired "goods" on hand.
lmao this is some supreme Russian cope.
Whenever you guys get blasted by some "inferior" force, you just blame it on NATO so you can pretend that you are still a world power.
We don’t do that thing. And the motive ? Support the CSP is not in our interest.
Ukrainian GUR has been operating wherever Russia and Wagner are operating.
@@mitchyoung93Intelligence agency doing direct action? This is why you’re a UA-cam general and not a real one.
@mitchyoung93 😂😂 good joke mitch
2 years not one oblast taken
@@mitchyoung93 Good ivan, now go collect your vodka ration mixed with copium 😂
thanks for a great analysis, you got a new sub
Glad you decided to take this one on. Its been confusing to be sure.
“The three is us are left. We continue to fight” goes unbelievably hard ngl
Mr Stewart I'm not going to lie this is probably just an issue for me but for the first time I almost considered slowing down your video and listening to it on X 0.75 in order to capture all the insane details that you are dropping. Not telling you to change your format or how to do things differently but this was a lot to take in and the fact that you covered it in 17 minutes. 😲 🤯
Preston, your deep dive of this event is brilliant 👏. Thanks for the update.
Preston Stewart, Task and Purpose and Ryan Macbeth are the holy Trinity of content creators for me. I appreciate your careful approach to topics. Just my opinion.
Lol Task and purpose? hahaha CIA
Task and purpose? The dude who does videos for defense contractors like Raytheon and claims non bias even though he has hard opinions in videos over a year old?
Well, we all know what they say about opinions, even my own.
@shawn7889 task and purpose said he has bias due to him being in the military he admits it whether it'd bias or not he has very interesting videos tho I do think Preston is the best nonbiased source
Combat Vet Reacts and Willie OAM are pretty good as well.
I’ve been seeing these videos all over a couple gore pages I follow for shooting videos and war updates from front line perspective. Been hoping to see you cover this and am glad I wasn’t disappointed. Definitely the first news I’ve seen on it and most likely the only news I’ll see on it.
Let's put some perspective on this. The United States worked with Al-Qaeda against the Russians in Afghanistan back in the 1980s.
Of course they did because they were the invaders
Yep, there is probably very few terrorist/rebel/revolutionary (depending on which side you are on) groups around the world that did not at some point in time get US support, and probably none without any kind of external sponsor behind the curtain.
Taliban right? Was Al Qaeda already a thing back then?
Either you are ignorant or lying. Al Qaeda didn't even exist when the Mujahideen fought against the Soviet invaders. Also there's no evidence that the US directly supported the group that would later become Al Qaeda.
Considering Al-Quaeda didn't exist in the 80's i'm gonna have to call Bullshit.
The US was working with the Mujahadeen, which had many different people and many different groups fighting for many different reasons.
I've been waiting for this video
Literally EVERYONE: "They hate Wagner"
I deeply respect and appreciate the effort you've put in on adding context and nuance to this story.
As a 91-B volunteer participant in CJTF-OIR who was stationed in Iraq, I could never have imagined that one day "Allahu Akbar" would sound so sweet to me
The enemy of my enemy is not my friend. We should not be cheering for Al Quida backed terrorists.
Make no mistake friend, they would likely try to kill you, to them you are just as Russian as those Wagner
Of course, since all of that Allahu Akbar groups were created by USA, so F you.
So you were a wheeled vehicle mechanic who deployed to Iraq and sat in a FOB?
@acegamer117 Yeah, in an AFB, more precisely, or an air station depends on your military branches
Very good breakdown from you and the team, especially helping clarify the difference between groups, because far too often people paint various groups or causes under a single brush and there are a lot of nuances to understand if you ever hope to address any issue.
No.1 Cheers fm Australia
Thank you for the news and your work
Wagner seem to be very inconsistent and I remember seeing a lot of videos showing Wagner casualties in Ukraine.
Great info thanks 👍😊
Thanks for helping to clear up some of the unknown and valid points
Stewart is one of the best out there reporting war been following him for 2 1/2 years 👍
I'm almost inclined to think maybe France might have at least a little hand in this 😏
French SF have been involved in operations for the last few months in Mali, most likely is. Ukraine could at best provide intelligence
@@deaghostyt2217no French SF in Mali.
@@Klliansimabras Talk for yourself.
@@deaghostyt2217 Give me source French SF are still in mali ?
@@Klliansimabras first hand witness. If french sf is in Mali they OBVIOUSLY wont scream it everywhere, just like the CIA in USSR.
Had to stop after 1 minute, because it was obvious that this was gonna be profound. Might be the first analysis of the event I found where I can actually learn something I didn't know already.
Defeated? They got curb stomped...again.
Wagner did not learn to walk without rhythm and attracted The Worm.
Also, another great and well done report.
The Tuareg fighters (not rebels) are supported by the Algerian army, since the Tuareg population in Algeria (with family bonds to the one in Mali) are to be considered as Algerian citizens. For Algeria, both Wagner and the Ukrainian mercenaries are not welcome at its border with Mali, therefore it's highly unlikely that the Tuareg are indeed having Ukrainians as allies in this messy war!
*start sarcasm* Ah yes because everyone in the region takes Algerian border cops seriously. *end sarcasm*
@@hughanquetil2567 ?
Taureg fighters are by definition Rebels.
France did not leave; they were forced out after years of deliberate, coordinated resource stealing from the people of Mali. France created the vacuum you talk about by ensuring the people in that region were kept poor by propping up detectors that helped steal the country's resources. France has been there for years but has never been able to fight off Militants, so really, what vacuum do you speak of?
Love from Arizona!!!!
You mean st petersburg?
@planetcaravan2925 no i mean Arizona.
Haven't heard anyone else talking about this, subbed.
In Syria, they didn't attack us , they were close to base.
Then us asked from Russians, are these they're people . They answered "no" .
Us sent out 2 Apaches and just stormed with full ammo rockets . 350+ died from 500 .
We thought they're just testing base.
The Russians and Syrians were moving to engage a force of Al Qaeda adjacent Syrian rebels. It just so happened that they were OUR Al Qaeda adjacent rebels, and we had troops/advisors/whatever stationed with them. So as they approached, they had no idea it was a US protected base.
@@mercb3ast "trust me bro" statement, you stupid ruzke bot
@@mercb3ast Then Russia abandoned them to get obliterated by air power when the US asked Moscow if the Mercs were theirs. The Americans even delayed their attack in case they were Russians. But Putin denied it and so they were slaughtered.
You're right, that was complicated.
It's Mali doesn't want the french contingent stay anymore
That was due to the French after a decade had only pushed back the rebels and got nowhere trying to destroy them, while in less than 2 years Wagner has pushed them almost completely out of the nation of Mali.
@@gidi3250not really
@@gidi3250 Is that why after France left, all the insurgent groups have allied and the Mali government is on the verge of operational collapse?
@@somezsaltz6835 it however is the reality of the situation on the ground in present day.
@@ArchOfficial the French lighting striked small groups (remarked by some journalists as "blitzkrieg") these small groups turned on eachother and would often fight eachother, with the larger French military detachment leaving smaller Wagner groupings took over positions, also the French military spent a lot of their time training the Mali military, Wagner hasn't done this to any realistic degree yet, preferring to give pointer and tips to some Mali units that are fighting in the field next to them. With the French exit, the external pressure was gone, Wagner basically spends it's time shadowing the Mali military (rather than out hunting the groups while they are small and disorganised) this has caused the groups to gather large forces and sort of start working together - somewhat. However Mali is militarily cracking the government is not collapsing yet, the current military dictatorship is intent to go down with the ship and have made it a point to fight on even when it's military would be spent, that hasn't happened yet - part of the reason why was the French involvement and now Wagner assistance keeping the Mali military somewhat alive, tho just barely.
I think the careful choice of rebel group is indicative of outside help. Just means the conflict is expanding.
Just, ‘Jay-nim’.
Also, ‘twah-reg’
Great video. Suchomimus channel on UA-cam used geolocation to show that it was likely the attack happened in two different areas using terrain in the background. So it might be plausible that the two forces indeed fought the same enemy in differing locations. Which, with the new information you presented is interesting to say the least.
The quality scale of weapons and gear on Wagner soldiers is surprisingly large.
The quality of the manpower is suprisingly low
Thank you. I understand things better now.
Wouldnt surprise me if some of those white faces in the rebel force photos are US 3 letter agency guys.
Thanks, well explained
It’s important to remember that in war there is no such things as “good guys” Regardless of how evil you view Russians or Wagner there were most likely 18 year olds who were killed in this battle which never hurt anyone & just joined because they were patriotic for their country. And this is coming from an Infantry Marine who deployed to 7 different countries. Nobody was a good guy in this scenario
After the horrific scenes from retaken villages such as buche, and from the satellite footage over occupied regions.... you cannot say this anymore, russia is definitively the bad guy.
@@deezboyeed6764 that’s exactly what I said. “Nobody is the good guy”
@michaelthomas9020 incorrect, currently ukraine is the good guy. To pretend otherwise means you believe genocide and invasion is equal to self defence.
@@deezboyeed6764 dawg what are you talking about. This video has nothing to do with Ukraine. This is about Russian Wagner in Mali, Africa.
A good analisis, thank´s Preston
1K 😂 indeed barely a few hunderds. Wagner reports .... seriously... almost as bad as RT propaganda reports. 😊
They lost 80 no where near 1k but 80 is still very bad
Thanks for the video!
French troops were redeployed out of Mali 2 years ago, due to the ambiguities and hostility of the ruling junta.
So ?
Because they were serving their own interests and not the fight against terrorist and the exploitation of minerals
@@oralmorris-sr2ly Thanks for your clairvoyance
@@oralmorris-sr2ly It's actually the reverse. The French were trying to broker a political deal between the Tuaregs who have legitimate grievances and the Malian government, but the Malians don't want this. In the meantime the French did a good job clobbering djihadis, and they managed not to get ambushed like newbies, unlike Wagner.
@@adrien5834 ambush is possible when the turreg gets useful info from Ukraine and what type of deal was going to happen between the turreg and Mali maybe they would give them a peice of the land France was doing nothing just their for the exploitation of the resources
Great video, a very interesting and complicated matter
Worth remembering that the Mali regime is not recognised as legitimate by key local and international authorities. They are not the good guys.
😂😂😂😂😂 shut up, like Israel recognised is the good guys?
@@ledeodorant3129 Mali established by a coup and denying promised elections. Israel a 70yr trainwreck. Whaddabout your country?
Holding fair elections supervised by the organisation of African states is a bit easier than searching the whole planet for the body parts.
Thank you for reporting this!
it was just Syrian rebels fighting for freedom not ISIS bro, kinda has the same vibe...i dont know why Mali thought russia would be any better france lmao
The French forces likely had their hands tied by their own government. You know how is these days.
@@raclark2730 France has historically never left a former colony peacefully. this is also pretty much the cause of the war in Vietnam. name a modern conflict Frances fingers have been all over it. all of there activism and grandstanding has historically only applied to other people
@@torengallagher8368 Indeed, and its helpless villages the will suffer from all sides actions now.
Big fan of your unbiased coverage Preston.,good stuff as always!
Unbiased?? haha
Us and allied proxy war
The Taureg are a very widespread, marshal tribe in the Sahel and Sahara. Large numbers of Taureg were employed by Libya's Khaddafi as his most effective shock troops and special forces. He lavished a great deal of money arming and training them. After he was killed, the Tuaregs who had been part of the Libyan security services took their weapons, a lot of gold, and a lot of equipment back to their homeland in the Sahara/Sahel and have been destabilizing the the entire West African region ever since.
So, the local Kozacks in a way....
Least convoluted ME militia relations
Great Sitrep Preston thanks.
Wagner just spawns in random deserts and gets railed... its so funny LMAO
Spawn camped
I watched footage from the aftermath of the battle, and let me tell you there were a lot more than 25 deaths. It was ridiculous how many dead bodies were collected. I also saw the Mali fighters finishing off a soldier who was playing dead.
Far as Russia giving reasons for the cause of the losses, I wouldn’t listen to a word those professional liars say.
Russia steady takin Ls
Their column got eliminated through a series of ambushes. Those Touareg didn't stop and chase the surviving vehicles to various ambush positions and even push them to a jihadist group where the surviving vehicles got wiped out.
The 13th detachment commander: "pond" were kia and an admin of a tg channel "greyzone" was kia also.
14:30
Yeah some will recognize that symbol.
Somewhat unrelated, but the Tuareg people also famously play some amazing "desert blues" music.
As much as I do not like the Wagner group...remember the last time we helped Islamists against Russia?
They were after the gold.
Communist until you get rich. Feminist until you get married. Atheist until the airplane starts falling. 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲❤️❤️❤️❤️
Christian, until your lust takes over and you cheat on all 3 wives like Trump. Trump cheating d on Barons mom, while she carried him.
Great break down ! Thanks dude 🤘🏽
Glory to Ukraine and Special Forces!
💛💙
Thank you for recognising the complexities of sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Not many have done that at all, let alone well.
If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons. (Winston Churchill)
I love your appropriate facial expressions. War is almost always terrible.
Algorithm
@user-kf9oy1jw3g I am not sending a dime
@user-kf9oy1jw3g get back in the kitchen
Thanks for the analysis, especially on Ukraine's involvement.
Guess that russian shovels didn't save them
Good video. Appreciate you are trying to make sense of what is going on in Mali. Also, highly appreciate the absence of sensationalist rhetoric, or glee.👍
Go Preston
Had to stop after 8 minutes to digest all you said. Until now, perfect. I learned much, and a really consistent picture starts emerging. One IMPORTANT note tho: Wagner established a presence in Mali even when the French (and Germans) were still running the show. At that time the Ndaw junta was preparing for return to democracy. They made nice with Colonel ("it's always a Colonel" -- Luttwak) Goita who was Ndaw's second-in-command, Russia supplying arms, etc. Also agitated against "Western imperialism" as per their SOP. When Ndaw had negotiated a peace deal with the Azawadis and was acquiescing to protests demanding a more inclusive "interim parliament", Putin struck, and Goita/Wagner deposed Ndaw, kicked out the EU forces, cancelled the peace agreement with the berbers, and restarted the civil war. Wagner has committed their usual crimes since then, and Goita is basically running a typical junta, with the democratic transition effectively dead, protesters getting shot, villages burned, etc.
So it's not that Wagner filled the power vacuum, they CREATED it. The French/Germans were getting ready to pack and leave anyway, because it seemed that Ndaw would successfully transition Mali to a peaceful democracy and unite the Berber and Army forces against the islamist threat (they also have some Boko Haram-affiliated cells in the southeast). Goita is a power-hungry colonel, while Ndaw was one of the precious and rare cases of a top dog politician who found the idea of tyrannical power and opportunities for corruption actually odious and wanted to retire ASAP.
Together with Burkina Faso and Niger, they're trying to sell this as "pan-africanism" which presently fools many people (particularly Afroamericans), but it is safe to say that "Sahelian Panafrica" is a Wagner puppet state, and the locals are learning what that means the hard way.