Mali denies any deployment of mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner

Published on : 12/25/2021 – 07:40

The Malian government denied, Friday, December 24, any deployment of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group, announced by some fifteen Western powers involved in the anti-jihadist fight in this Sahelian country.

The government of Mali “gives a formal denial to these baseless allegations” on “an alleged deployment of elements of a private security company in Mali,” he said in a statement released Friday evening.

It “demands that proof be brought to it by independent sources” and “wishes to point out that, like the European training mission (EUTM), Russian trainers are present in Mali as part of the strengthening of the operational capacities of National Defense and Security Forces “.

A state-to-state partnership

Bamako asks to “be judged on acts rather than on rumors and wishes to recall that the Malian state is only engaged in a state-to-state partnership with the Russian Federation, its historical partner”, in this press release signed by the government spokesperson, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, also Minister of Territorial Administration.

About fifteen Western powers announced in a statement Thursday the deployment in Mali, with the help of Moscow, of the sulphurous Russian paramilitary company Wagner.

“We (…) strongly condemn the deployment of mercenaries on Malian territory”, underlined in a joint statement these countries including France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, denouncing “the involvement of Government of the Russian Federation in providing material support for the deployment of the Wagner Group in Mali “.

“Today we can see repeated air rotations on site with military transport planes belonging to the Russian army, installations at Bamako airport allowing the reception of a significant number of mercenaries, frequent visits of executives. of Wagner in Bamako and the activities of Russian geologists known for their proximity to Wagner “, indicated a French government source.

“We call on Russia to behave in a responsible and constructive manner in the region”, insisted the press release also signed by Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania and Sweden.

These countries are engaged alongside France in the new European grouping of special forces Takuba, intended to accompany Malian soldiers in combat.

The deployment of Russian mercenaries has so far been a red line for Paris. The 15 signatory countries of the communiqué, however, reaffirmed their “determination to continue (their) action to protect civilians, to support the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and to help establish long-term stability”.

Mali has been the scene since 2012 of operations by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, as well as violence perpetrated by “self-defense militias” and bandits. The regular forces are themselves accused of abuses.

The violence that started in the north in 2012 spread to the center, then to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. They killed thousands of civilians and soldiers as well as hundreds of thousands of displaced people, despite the deployment of UN, French and African forces.

The seizure of power in Bamako by the military following a putsch in 2020 has not stopped the spiral of violence.

With AFP