Unverified claims surface during Anéfis clashes
Between July 4 and 9 in Anéfis, Mali, national forces—backed by Russian African Corps elements—engaged terror groups in intense combat. Amid the fighting, false narratives emerged targeting the French military, whose troops left Mali in August 2022. These disinformation efforts falsely suggested a French soldier was killed alongside rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims.
The lie behind a manipulated image
Misinformation began circulating quietly after the heaviest fighting in Anéfis. On July 9, a misleading post appeared on X (formerly Twitter), exploiting a July 7 incident where a Russian-born French legionnaire, Sergeant Pena, died in a training accident in the French Alps. Authorities had released official tributes to the fallen soldier. Pro-AES accounts seized on the moment, claiming “other hypotheses exist, including a possible death in Anéfis, Mali.”
The next day, a graphic image circulated, allegedly showing a dead soldier in the desert. The victim bore a striking resemblance to Sergeant Pena, with the propagandists leveraging his Russian origins and visual likeness to fuel confusion.
Identifying a Russian mercenary, not a French soldier
Experts analyzing the gruesome desert images identified them as footage from the 2024 Tinzaouatène battle in northern Mali. Reverse image searches revealed the same photo—this time labeled as a Russian mercenary killed in 2024. The unverified source? An anonymous forum where anyone can post without accountability.
Propaganda video exposes the truth
A six-minute propaganda video released by the National Liberation Front of Azawad in 2025 to mark the first anniversary of the Tinzaouatène battle included the same corpse image. Despite blurred captures, key details—body positioning, camouflage patterns, facial structure, and haircuts—matched archived footage of Russian fighters killed in 2024.
This disinformation relied on an out-of-context image: archival footage of Wagner Group fighters killed in Tinzaouatène in 2024, not a French soldier allegedly found in Anéfis in 2026.
A flimsy narrative fails to gain traction
The false narrative accusing French troops of collaborating with terrorists is not new. However, this particular attempt at manipulation remained confined to familiar Sahelian propaganda accounts and received minimal amplification. Many users publicly denounced the deception. The weak response may signal that repeated narratives lose their impact after four years of circulation.
As of now, our investigation shows fewer than 50,000 views of the misleading post on X. Still, the attempt to impersonate a French soldier who died in the line of duty represents a serious violation of his memory and integrity.
