BAMAKO, July 31, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Drone attacks left at least six civilians dead Tuesday in a northern Mali town where Malian troops and Russian allies recently suffered heavy losses fighting separatist rebels, local officials and separatists told AFP.

"The drones killed at least six civilians Tuesday -- among them Sudanese, Nigeriens and Chadians," one local official said after the attack at Tinzaouatene near the Algerian border.

Another official accused armed forces and the Russian fighters of killing ten people in the attack.

Separatist spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud, told AFP that "drone fire from the Malian army accompanied by Wagner (Russian fighters) targeted civilian gold miners working in a mine near the Algerian border".

He added there had been "dozens of deaths, mainly Nigerien Hausa and Chadians".

A Malian source told AFP that "the drones targeted and hit a pick-up transporting terrorists and their weapons", without giving further details.

The Malian army and Wagner acknowledged a serious setback in the region on Saturday, taking heavy losses in fighting against separatist rebels and jihadists.

The Malian army on Monday said it suffered a "large number" of deaths in a rare admission after rebels claimed to have inflicted major losses.

The CSP-DPA alliance, a mainly Tuareg separatist coalition, claimed a major victory over the army and its Russian allies at the weekend following three days of intense combat around Tinzaouatene.

The Al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) also claimed it had attacked an army convoy and Wagner mercenaries just south of Tinzaouatene.

JNIM said it killed 50 Russians and 10 Malians, though AFP could not verify the claims.

The Wagner group on Monday likewise admitted severe losses, including a commander.

The West African nation's military leaders who seized power in a 2020 coup have made it a priority to retake all of the country from separatists and jihadist forces.

At the same time the junta has broken off military alliances with former colonial power France and turned to Russia for support.