🇲🇱 🇺🇦 🇷🇺 “Rebels in #Mali Display #Ukrainian Flag After #Wagner Defeat” is the noscript of an article published by the Kyiv Post, a Ukrainian media outlet, on July 29th—two days after the #Malian army (#FAMA) and #Russian mercenary personnel were decimated in two ambushes laid by #Tuareg rebels and Islamic militants near the Algerian border. Via theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
Upon further investigation however, it appears the image was taken as early as June 10th, and not ‘just after [the Tuaregs] dealt a major defeat to the Russian state-funded Wagner mercenaries in Mali’ on July 27th, as claimed by the Post.
The “exclusive photo” obtained by the Ukrainian media outlet, allegedly from #Ukraine's Defense and Security Sector, depicts a group of Tuareg rebels standing with both the #Azawad and Ukrainian flags. The image likely was taken sometime before June 10th, as a video posted on X by Akli Sh’kka, a Tuareg journalist, depicts the same fighters, in the same military dress.
One difference between the video uploaded by Sh’kka and the image posted by the Kyiv post is two men, dressed in western attire with their firearms pointed downwards, in contrast to the skywards facing firearms of the Tuaregs. It is likely the two men joined the photo after the video was taken, with the photo only released in the aftermath of the devastating attack on the FAMA and Russian mercenaries over the weekend.
How the men arrived in Mali, and embedded with the rebels—if they are indeed linked to Ukraine—may be connected to the opening of a Ukrainian embassy in Nouakchott, #Mauritania, which shares a nearly 1400 mile border with Mali, in late May.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), referencing the recent attack, claimed on July 29th that “the rebels received necessary information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
And while Ukrainian special forces have conducted operations against Wagner (now known as the ‘Africa Corps’) personnel in African nations such as Sudan as well as Middle Eastern nations such as Syria, the probability that Ukrainian personnel took part in this most recent battle is low.
The battle of Tinzaouten illustrated firstly, the deep knowledge of the terrain by both the Tuaregs and the Islamic militants, as well as their ability to predict the routes most likely to be taken by the FAMA reconnaissance convoy on the way to Tinzaouten, as well as the routes most likely to be taken by the support units, as evidenced by the placing of IED’s by both the Tuaregs and the Islamists.
Furthermore, the ‘loss’ of Inafarak, seen by many analysts as the ‘last Tuareg stronghold’ may have been a strategic move by the Tuaregs to draw the convoy closer to Tinzaouten, where at least 900 reserve fighters were stationed, and away from Tessalit, the nearest supply town for the FAMA.
Additionally, the distance of Tinzaouten from Kidal city, where the FAMA would be most likely to launch drone strikes from, is nearly 200 miles, which places the commune out of a Bayraktar TB2’s range, which FAMA is equipped with.
Some Russian analysts have claimed that drone strikes were not conducted due to the FAMA’s lack of payloads for the drones, although this claim is disputed by the FAMA’s drone strikes conducted on the commune of Tin-Essako on July 19th.
Full article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/29/fact-check-when-did-tuareg-rebels-tout-the-ukraine-flag/
Upon further investigation however, it appears the image was taken as early as June 10th, and not ‘just after [the Tuaregs] dealt a major defeat to the Russian state-funded Wagner mercenaries in Mali’ on July 27th, as claimed by the Post.
The “exclusive photo” obtained by the Ukrainian media outlet, allegedly from #Ukraine's Defense and Security Sector, depicts a group of Tuareg rebels standing with both the #Azawad and Ukrainian flags. The image likely was taken sometime before June 10th, as a video posted on X by Akli Sh’kka, a Tuareg journalist, depicts the same fighters, in the same military dress.
One difference between the video uploaded by Sh’kka and the image posted by the Kyiv post is two men, dressed in western attire with their firearms pointed downwards, in contrast to the skywards facing firearms of the Tuaregs. It is likely the two men joined the photo after the video was taken, with the photo only released in the aftermath of the devastating attack on the FAMA and Russian mercenaries over the weekend.
How the men arrived in Mali, and embedded with the rebels—if they are indeed linked to Ukraine—may be connected to the opening of a Ukrainian embassy in Nouakchott, #Mauritania, which shares a nearly 1400 mile border with Mali, in late May.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), referencing the recent attack, claimed on July 29th that “the rebels received necessary information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
And while Ukrainian special forces have conducted operations against Wagner (now known as the ‘Africa Corps’) personnel in African nations such as Sudan as well as Middle Eastern nations such as Syria, the probability that Ukrainian personnel took part in this most recent battle is low.
The battle of Tinzaouten illustrated firstly, the deep knowledge of the terrain by both the Tuaregs and the Islamic militants, as well as their ability to predict the routes most likely to be taken by the FAMA reconnaissance convoy on the way to Tinzaouten, as well as the routes most likely to be taken by the support units, as evidenced by the placing of IED’s by both the Tuaregs and the Islamists.
Furthermore, the ‘loss’ of Inafarak, seen by many analysts as the ‘last Tuareg stronghold’ may have been a strategic move by the Tuaregs to draw the convoy closer to Tinzaouten, where at least 900 reserve fighters were stationed, and away from Tessalit, the nearest supply town for the FAMA.
Additionally, the distance of Tinzaouten from Kidal city, where the FAMA would be most likely to launch drone strikes from, is nearly 200 miles, which places the commune out of a Bayraktar TB2’s range, which FAMA is equipped with.
Some Russian analysts have claimed that drone strikes were not conducted due to the FAMA’s lack of payloads for the drones, although this claim is disputed by the FAMA’s drone strikes conducted on the commune of Tin-Essako on July 19th.
Full article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/29/fact-check-when-did-tuareg-rebels-tout-the-ukraine-flag/
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🇮🇱 ⚠️ 🇱🇧 #IDF Strikes #Beirut:
The IDF has confirmed that it has conducted an airstrike in #Lebanon's capital of Beirut targeting the #Hezbollah commander “responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and killed many Israeli civilians.” theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The identity of said commander remains unknown at this time. Dozens of casualties are reported from the strike but exact details unconfirmed.
Lebanese sources earlier reported that an explosion occurred in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The blast came in anticipation of #Israel's response to this weekend’s rocket attack against the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the #GolanHeights, which left 12 children and teens dead.
Up until now, Israeli strikes against Hezbollah have been outside of Beirut. Via theatlasnews.co
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Reuters: "Hezbollah has denied firing the rocket that killed the youngsters. It said on Saturday it had fired a missile against a military target on the Golan.
Israel's security cabinet has authorised Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the manner and timing of a response to Saturday's strike. Gallant reaffirmed, in comments to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday, that "Iranian proxy Hezbollah" would be held responsible for the rocket strike.
Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying the response would be "limited but significant".
The report said options ranged from a limited attack on infrastructure, including bridges, power plants, and ports, to hitting Hezbollah arms depots or targeting Hezbollah commanders.
Exacerbated by the Gaza conflict, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have been their worst since they went to war in 2006.
Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, has said its attacks on Israel have aimed to support the Palestinians and indicated it will only cease fire when Israel's offensive on Gaza stops.
The conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border has forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes on both sides.
Israel seized the border region from Syria after the 1967 war and has since annexed it in a move not generally recognised internationally, although the U.S. considers it part of Israel.
While Washington has also blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike and defended Israel's right to respond, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a phone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday, emphasised the importance of preventing escalation of the conflict, the U.S. State Department said.
Since October, Israeli strikes have killed around 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, according to security and medical sources and a Reuters tally of Hezbollah death notifications.
Israel says 23 civilians and at least 17 soldiers have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since October."
Article from yesterday before strike: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-braces-israeli-retaliation-strike-kills-2-south-lebanon-2024-07-29/
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Since the strike today, demonstrations have started in Lebanon in support of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has also, as of just now, denied the target of Israel's strike in Beruit was killed. Other casualties are reported on the ground from the strike, but no solid figures yet or confirmations.
The IDF has confirmed that it has conducted an airstrike in #Lebanon's capital of Beirut targeting the #Hezbollah commander “responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and killed many Israeli civilians.” theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The identity of said commander remains unknown at this time. Dozens of casualties are reported from the strike but exact details unconfirmed.
Lebanese sources earlier reported that an explosion occurred in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The blast came in anticipation of #Israel's response to this weekend’s rocket attack against the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the #GolanHeights, which left 12 children and teens dead.
Up until now, Israeli strikes against Hezbollah have been outside of Beirut. Via theatlasnews.co
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Reuters: "Hezbollah has denied firing the rocket that killed the youngsters. It said on Saturday it had fired a missile against a military target on the Golan.
Israel's security cabinet has authorised Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to decide on the manner and timing of a response to Saturday's strike. Gallant reaffirmed, in comments to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday, that "Iranian proxy Hezbollah" would be held responsible for the rocket strike.
Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted unidentified officials as saying the response would be "limited but significant".
The report said options ranged from a limited attack on infrastructure, including bridges, power plants, and ports, to hitting Hezbollah arms depots or targeting Hezbollah commanders.
Exacerbated by the Gaza conflict, hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have been their worst since they went to war in 2006.
Hezbollah, an ally of Palestinian militant group Hamas, has said its attacks on Israel have aimed to support the Palestinians and indicated it will only cease fire when Israel's offensive on Gaza stops.
The conflict at the Israel-Lebanon border has forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes on both sides.
Israel seized the border region from Syria after the 1967 war and has since annexed it in a move not generally recognised internationally, although the U.S. considers it part of Israel.
While Washington has also blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike and defended Israel's right to respond, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a phone call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday, emphasised the importance of preventing escalation of the conflict, the U.S. State Department said.
Since October, Israeli strikes have killed around 350 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and more than 100 civilians, according to security and medical sources and a Reuters tally of Hezbollah death notifications.
Israel says 23 civilians and at least 17 soldiers have been killed in Hezbollah attacks since October."
Article from yesterday before strike: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-braces-israeli-retaliation-strike-kills-2-south-lebanon-2024-07-29/
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Since the strike today, demonstrations have started in Lebanon in support of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has also, as of just now, denied the target of Israel's strike in Beruit was killed. Other casualties are reported on the ground from the strike, but no solid figures yet or confirmations.
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SITREP: #Beirut Airstrike
The #IDF has reported that an airstrike in the capital of #Lebanon, Beirut, has killed senior #Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr, described as the “Hezbollah’s most senior military commander and [Hezbollah Secretary-General] Hassan #Nasrallah’s right-hand man.” theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The strike presents itself as the anticipated Israeli response to this weekend’s rocket attack against the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the #GolanHeights, which left 12 children and teens dead.
Initial casualty claims by Lebanese media suggest at least three people were killed and over 60 others were wounded, including reportedly several children and women according to local outlets.
At approximately 7:45 pm local time, reports began to emerge of an explosion in the Danish neighborhood of Beirut, which was quickly speculated to be an #Israeli airstrike. Geolocation of the strike placed it at a multi-story building, which received significant damage and caused sections of it to collapse (GEO: 33.8532180, 35.5065807).
Shukr is a senior military advisor and is believed to be the current chief of staff for military operations. He is also wanted by the United States for his alleged role in planning the October 23, 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. military personnel and wounded 128 others.
Tensions have steadily escalated between #Israel and the #Lebanese militant group over the past several months, with fears that the conflict could boil over into a full-scale war.
Full article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/30/sitrep-beirut-airstrike/
The #IDF has reported that an airstrike in the capital of #Lebanon, Beirut, has killed senior #Hezbollah official Fuad Shukr, described as the “Hezbollah’s most senior military commander and [Hezbollah Secretary-General] Hassan #Nasrallah’s right-hand man.” theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The strike presents itself as the anticipated Israeli response to this weekend’s rocket attack against the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the #GolanHeights, which left 12 children and teens dead.
Initial casualty claims by Lebanese media suggest at least three people were killed and over 60 others were wounded, including reportedly several children and women according to local outlets.
At approximately 7:45 pm local time, reports began to emerge of an explosion in the Danish neighborhood of Beirut, which was quickly speculated to be an #Israeli airstrike. Geolocation of the strike placed it at a multi-story building, which received significant damage and caused sections of it to collapse (GEO: 33.8532180, 35.5065807).
Shukr is a senior military advisor and is believed to be the current chief of staff for military operations. He is also wanted by the United States for his alleged role in planning the October 23, 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 U.S. military personnel and wounded 128 others.
Tensions have steadily escalated between #Israel and the #Lebanese militant group over the past several months, with fears that the conflict could boil over into a full-scale war.
Full article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/30/sitrep-beirut-airstrike/
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🇺🇬 #Uganda’s Forever President:
On July 22nd, #Ugandan social media was abuzz. The day had come for the much anticipated ‘March2Parliament,’ a peaceful march organized by aggrieved Ugandan youth to the nation’s Parliament building in #Kampala to protest government corruption. theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The partyless, leaderless movement came as the result of a series of ‘exhibitions’ promulgated by Ugandan youth on X, which highlighted the deep rooted corruption among the Ugandan political elite, particularly the dealings of the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among.
Among is sanctioned by both the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) for her office’s ‘irregular expenditures.’ The UK has accused Among of “stealing from the poorest communities in Uganda,” while the US’s sanctions are based on “[her] involvement in significant corruption tied to her leadership.”
And while Among was the name most commonly seen in the many posts against corruption in the country, the ‘March2Parliament’ signified something much larger.
In a nation that has been ruled since 1986 by President Yoweri Kaguta #Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM)—the political wing of the National Resistance Army (NRA) which gained power through a relentless bush war against the government of Milton Obote and later the government of Tito Okello, dissenting politically can result in the loss of life, health, and home.
Utilizing memories of life under the “butcher of Uganda” Idi Amin, who served between 1971-79 and killed some 300,000 of his own people, as well as the chaos that was the Ugandan bush war, Museveni, through his clamp-downs on press, internet, and speech freedom, has crafted a national story that ends in despair unless he remains head of state.
Full history and context in the article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/30/ugandas-forever-president/
On July 22nd, #Ugandan social media was abuzz. The day had come for the much anticipated ‘March2Parliament,’ a peaceful march organized by aggrieved Ugandan youth to the nation’s Parliament building in #Kampala to protest government corruption. theatlasnews.co @AtlasNewsTelegram
The partyless, leaderless movement came as the result of a series of ‘exhibitions’ promulgated by Ugandan youth on X, which highlighted the deep rooted corruption among the Ugandan political elite, particularly the dealings of the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Annet Among.
Among is sanctioned by both the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) for her office’s ‘irregular expenditures.’ The UK has accused Among of “stealing from the poorest communities in Uganda,” while the US’s sanctions are based on “[her] involvement in significant corruption tied to her leadership.”
And while Among was the name most commonly seen in the many posts against corruption in the country, the ‘March2Parliament’ signified something much larger.
In a nation that has been ruled since 1986 by President Yoweri Kaguta #Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM)—the political wing of the National Resistance Army (NRA) which gained power through a relentless bush war against the government of Milton Obote and later the government of Tito Okello, dissenting politically can result in the loss of life, health, and home.
Utilizing memories of life under the “butcher of Uganda” Idi Amin, who served between 1971-79 and killed some 300,000 of his own people, as well as the chaos that was the Ugandan bush war, Museveni, through his clamp-downs on press, internet, and speech freedom, has crafted a national story that ends in despair unless he remains head of state.
Full history and context in the article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/07/30/ugandas-forever-president/
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Hamas has confirmed that political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Iran.
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Goes without saying this was an Israeli operation, but exact details remain unclear.
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In the past 12 hours the head of Hezbollah military operations and the political head of Hamas have been killed
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Any hope for negotiations (with little momentum they had) are completely out the window now
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The next few days are going to be wild.
Hezbollah will already likely to respond due to the killing of Shukr early today.
Houthis will likely take action, potentially attacking Israel directly or its interest in the region.
Islamic Resistance will resume attacks against American forces in the region.
Question is whether Iran will respond similar to that back in April.
Hezbollah will already likely to respond due to the killing of Shukr early today.
Houthis will likely take action, potentially attacking Israel directly or its interest in the region.
Islamic Resistance will resume attacks against American forces in the region.
Question is whether Iran will respond similar to that back in April.
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Still no confirmation on what exactly happened.
Several Saudi outlets are claiming a guided missile was used.
If this is the case, my first thought would be the Blue Sparrow ALBM since they were reportedly used to strike Isfahan back in April.
Several Saudi outlets are claiming a guided missile was used.
If this is the case, my first thought would be the Blue Sparrow ALBM since they were reportedly used to strike Isfahan back in April.
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But there is also claims that some form of IED was used, which would make more sense to me
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There are also claims that he was killed around 2:00am local time, which if confirmed means that there was a five hour delay in reporting by Iranian media
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I have forgot to mention that Hamas will also likely seek a response, however the extent remains to be seen considering the degradation of rocket capabilities due to ongoing IDF operations on the strip
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Looking back on the guided missile piece, could also be an ATGM.
Mossad has carried out targeted assassinations using in-country teams previously.
Could also be some sort of remote controlled set up similar to the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh back in 2020
Mossad has carried out targeted assassinations using in-country teams previously.
Could also be some sort of remote controlled set up similar to the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh back in 2020
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