Published on: 04/22/2022 – 15:44 The French army accuses Russian mercenaries of having tried to make soldiers of Operation Barkhane endorse abuses near the Gossi base in northern Mali . The staff denounces “an informational attack”, when officially handing over the keys to the base to the Malian armed forces. The French army filmed what it claims were Russian mercenaries burying bodies near the Gossi base in northern Mali. According to the soldiers, these individuals were in the process of creating a mass grave from scratch with the aim, then, of accusing the French of being responsible for it. This affair comes as the French army, within the framework of its disengagement from the Mali announced in February, officially handed over the keys to the Gossi base, which hosted 300 French soldiers, to the Malian armed forces (FAMa) on Tuesday. The next day, in the evening, a message was posted on Twitter. “An account, which we know to be false, of an individual who poses as a Malian soldier, warns that images of corpses and a mass grave will be broadcast”, tells on France 24, Wassim Nasr, journalist at France 24 In illustration: an image of the French armies.Thursday, April 21, the account actually publishes a photo of blurred corpses buried in the sand, with the comment: “This is what the French left behind when they left the base to #Gossi (…) we can’t keep silent about that!”. Today I’m going to tell you @FRANCE24 about a sordid story, an emerging misinformation, corpses, sand, mercenaries and an institution that has decided it’s time to put its cards on the table and show what it is. is able to see day… and night pic.twitter.com/lvPkcDAiY0— Wassim Nasr (@SimNasr) April 22, 2022 An “informational attack””Except that the French armies captured, with aerial means, this same scene And in these images, we actually see individuals filming the scene, which was later published on social networks,” explains Wassim Nasr. The Malian Armed Forces accompanied by individuals of Caucasian type in the Gossi base, April 20, 2022 00:36 The Malian Armed Forces accompanied by individuals of Caucasian type in the Gossi base, April 20, 2022. © French Army In this video taken using aerial means, to which France 24 had access, and which the French general staff describes as an “informational attack”, we can see soldiers of Caucasian type busying themselves around corpses that ‘they cover with sand. “This is the first time that the French army has decided to reveal these images, normally confidential, to denounce misinformation”, continues the journalist. “It’s a way of taking the lead in showing the journey of this misinformation.” Caucasian individuals observed burying bodies 3.5 kilometers from the Gossi base at 09:50 21 April 2022 00:32 Caucasian individuals observed burying bodies 3 5 kilometers from the Gossi base, at 9:50 a.m. on April 21, 2022. © French Army The Twitter account “is most likely a fake account created by Wagner”, the Russian private military company, estimates the French staff. “This maneuver to discredit the Barkhane force seems coordinated. It is representative of the multiple information attacks to which the French soldiers have been subjected for many months”, continued the staff. Caucasian individuals film freshly buried corpses 3.5 kilometers from the Gossi base, April 21, 2022 00:27 Caucasian individuals film freshly buried corpses 3.5 kilometers from the Gossi base, the April 21, 2022. © French Army Paris has decided on its military withdrawal from Mali in a degraded security context and against a backdrop of tensions between France and the military junta in power, accused by Westerners of using the services of the Wagner group. Bamako evokes for its part simple Russian advisers. On Tuesday, the staff had warned to expect informational attacks on the occasion of the handover of the Gossi base. His spokesman, Colonel Pascal Ianni, had specified that a “documented” inventory of the base had been drawn up, to protect France from possible accusations. An allusion to the anti-French sentiment that has gained ground in the region and has caused France to be the subject of smear campaigns on social networks. “Several months ago, the French forces were accused of participating in trafficking (…), of arming terrorists or even of committing abuses”, recalled Colonel Ianni. Abuses perpetrated by the Wagner group? The French army also believes that “the comparison of the photos published on Twitter and the images collected by the specialized sensor makes it possible to make a direct link between what Wagner’s mercenaries are doing and what is falsely attributed to the French soldiers”. According to her, these “exactions testify to the modes of action implemented by Wagner’s mercenaries, which have been observed in the Central African Republic since (his) deployment and which have been denounced by numerous international organizations and NGOs”. In March, several massacres were recorded in central Mali. Systematically, according to witnesses, Wagner troops are present”, abounds Wassim Nasr. Various massacres have been recorded in central Mali since the beginning of March. © France 24 With AFP