Dozens of Russian mercenaries fighting for the infamous Wagner group in northern Africa were killed in an ambush over the weekend.

Footage obtained by Digital showed dozens of Russian soldiers, some partially undressed, lying dead near burnt vehicles after a violent attack.

While the details leading up to the attack are unclear, reports suggest that the massacre was the result of an ambush by Tuareg separatists targeting Wagner and Malian forces near the Algerian border.

“Our forces decisively obliterated these enemy columns on Saturday,” Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the rebel movement in Northern Mali known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development, said in a statement Sunday.

“A large amount of equipment and weapons were seized or damaged”, the spokesperson added.

The statement also mentioned that the rebel groups captured an unconfirmed number of prisoners while losing seven of their own fighters and sustaining injuries to 12 others.

Russian media reported that at least 20 Wagner soldiers were killed in the ambush, while the Malian army reported two of their soldiers killed. However, some reports suggest that the Russian death toll could be as high as 80.

Digital was unable to independently verify the number of Russian or Malian soldiers depicted in the footage, or whether any fighters were taken prisoner.

The ambush, which appears to have occurred on Saturday, reportedly followed days of fighting in the Tinzaouatene area in northeast Mali.

Russian Wagner forces, formally led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a plane crash in August 2023 after challenging the Kremlin, have been operating in Mali since 2022 after Malian military leaders took control of the North African nation and expelled French forces.

Fighting in Mali’s northern region has intensified in recent months after Mali’s military rulers revoked a 2015 peace agreement with the separatist group in January.

Mali has reportedly denied that the Russian forces are Wagner mercenaries, claiming instead that they are trainers assisting the army in its fight against terrorism.

However, in a rare statement, Wagner stated on Telegram that its forces in Mali, under commander Sergei Shevchenko, whose call sign is “Pond”, engaged in a battle alongside Malian forces from July 22-27.

“On the first day, the ‘Pond group’ destroyed most of the Islamists and put the rest to flight,” Wagner said on Telegram according to a Reuters report Monday. “However, (an) ensuing sandstorm allowed the radicals to regroup and increase their numbers to 1,000 people.”

Shevchenko was reportedly killed in the fighting.

Reuters contributed to this report.