On July 27 the primarily Tuareg irredentist armed group (CSP) and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists (JNIM) ambushed a Wagner Group convoy near Tinzaoutene in northern Mali, which the CSP claimed killed 84 Wagner and 47 soldiers from the Malian Armed Forces. If confirmed – and the numbers appear fairly accurate – the loss would be Wagner’s largest to date in Africa, and may even rival losses suffered against the U.S. military in Syria’s Battle of Khasham. Whatever the final tally, there is little doubt even internally that Wagner suffered a significant defeat. But Western analysts have been too quick t…