Reports indicate that a Russian soldier has been killed in Hombori, Mali‘s central Mopti region.
A Russian Advisor, in his mid-30s, had erroneously struck an improvised explosive device on Tuesday morning and died after being conveyed to a hospital in the central town of Sevare.
Mali’s army has however not officially commented on the incident that led to the death of the soldier.
The Malian junta has denied that mercenaries from Russia’s paramilitary organisation Wagner are helping with counterinsurgency operations.
It comes after the UN accused Malian authorities of blocking UN human rights investigators from visiting a hamlet where hundreds of people were slaughtered on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people were massacred by Malian forces and their Russian allies during an operation against insurgents last month. Mali said the victims were militants, while Russia denied any involvement in the operation.
Mali is battling militants groups affiliated to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) that have gained momentum and escalated attacks in the parched Sahel area of West Africa over the last decade, expanding south and into neighboring nations.
After a decade-long war against rebels, France, which intervened in Mali in 2013, decided in February to remove its military from the nation.