Mali: government denies any deployment of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group – franceinfo

The Malian government “Formally denies these baseless allegations” on “an alleged deployment of elements of a private security company in Mali”. In a statement released Friday evening, December 24, the Malian government responded to the fifteen Western powers (including France, Germany and the United Kingdom) who announced Thursday that mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner have been deployed. in the country.

The Malian government “demands that evidence be brought to it by independent sources” and “would like 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 the National Defense and Security Forces”.

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.