The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has warned that the EU’s relations with Mali could be severely damaged if the country allows privacy. Russian Military contractors operate on their land.
France threatens to withdraw its forces from Mali
earlier France She threatened to withdraw her forces From Mali, after information appeared about the possibility of cooperation ranking In Bamako with a Russian military company called the Wagner Group. The company has a paramilitary force that, according to Paris, has committed repeated violations and crimes in the past. For eight years now, French forces have been conducting a counterterrorism operation in the Sahel – an area along the southern edge of the Sahara, stretching from Senegal to Sudan – through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Eritrea.
Paris expressed concern over reports of possible cooperation between the Malian authorities and Russia’s Wagner Group. “If this information is confirmed, it will be extremely worrying, contradictory and inconsistent with the measures that we have taken years ago and that we want to continue in the Sahel countries,” National Defense Minister Florence Parly said. head of the french MSZ Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that the involvement of the Russian concern in Mali “contradicts the presence of French forces in the country”.
Wagner Group. Mali authorities confirm this
The financial authorities confirmed that they were in talks with the Russian company. According to media reports, the Wagner Group will send more than a thousand Russian mercenaries to Bamako. In this case, Paris would immediately withdraw its troops from the country, French diplomats warned. According to them, the Wagner Group has been commissioned by the Kremlin and has been conducting anti-French propaganda in Africa for several months.
Currently, more than 5,000 French soldiers are stationed in the Sahel. in June President But French President Emmanuel Macron announced the reduction of the military presence after a military coup in Mali.
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