Mali refutes Europe’s, Canada’s claims of Russian deployment
The government of Mali has refuted accusations made by
Canada and a number of European countries about the alleged deployment of private
Russian military
officers from the Wagner Group.
According to the statement published on its official
Facebook account, the government of Mali "officially rejects these
groundless accusations and demands proof from independent sources." The
government noted that it "participates only in an inter-state partnership
with the Russian Federation, its historic partner," asking to "judge
it by actions, not rumors." The "Wagner" Private Military Corporation (PMC) is not mentioned
in the statement.
France and more than a dozen of Western allies have
condemned what they claimed was the deployment of Russian mercenaries working
for the Wagner Group in conflict-hit Mali, accusing Moscow of providing
material backing for the fighters.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the 15 countries –
including Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom – said they “firmly condemn
the deployment of mercenary troops on Malian territory”.
On September 25, Russian Foreign Minister disclosed that
Mali contacted a Russian private military contractor for aid in combating
terrorism, adding that Moscow is not involved in this deal.
In early October, French Armed Forces General Staff Spokesman
Colonel Pascal Ianni stated that French special operations units participating
in the counter-terrorism operation in Sahel found no signs of Wagner’s presence
in the region. Ianni also noted that he is unaware whether Mali made a deal with
Wagner or not.
Since August 2020, Mali suffered two military coups. The
first took place on August 18, 2020, and resulted in President Boubakar Keita
being deposed. A group of military officers, led by Colonel Assimi Goita
appointed Ba Ndao as the interim president. However, on May 26, the same group
of military officers deposed him; meanwhile, the Constitutional Court of the
republic appointed Goita as the interim head of state.
