Mali: a jihadist group announces the capture of a Russian from the Wagner group


Europe 1 with AFP

The Support Group for Islam and Muslims announced in a press release that it was detaining a Russian member of the Wagner militia captured in early April. This is the first time that this main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda, has announced the capture of a Russian engaged on the front of the anti-jihadist fight in the country.

The Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) is holding a Russian member of the Wagner militia, according to a press release on behalf of this jihadist formation sent overnight from Sunday to Monday. “During the first week of April, (we) captured a soldier of the Russian forces Wagner in the region of Ségou”, in the center of Mali, indicates this text in Arabic. This is the first time that the GSIM, the main jihadist alliance in the Sahel, linked to Al-Qaeda, has announced the capture of a Russian engaged on the front of the anti-jihadist fight in the country.

“Hundreds of innocent civilians” killed

“These murderous forces participated with the Malian army in a parachute operation on a market in the village of Moura where they confronted several mujahideen before encircling this locality for five days and killing hundreds of innocent civilians”, adds the text.

According to the same press release, “the mujahideen also faced two parachute operations carried out by mercenaries above the cliffs of Bandiagara, 70 km from Sévaré (central Mali, editor’s note). The mujahideen succeeded in confiscating weapons of the mercenaries who fled”.

“Instructors” from Russia

Since 2012, Mali has been plunged into a deep security crisis that the deployment of foreign forces has not been able to resolve. Led by the military since August 2020, the country has made massive use of what it presents as “instructors” from Russia while Westerners (Paris and Washington in particular) denounce the presence in the country of “mercenaries” of the group private Russian Wagner, which the Malian colonels in power strongly deny.

Moura was the scene at the end of March of a controversial operation by the Malian army. According to the Bamako authorities, Malian soldiers “neutralized” 203 jihadists there, but the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) of having summarily executed 300 civilians there, with the help of foreign fighters. The UN mission in Mali (Minusma) has since asked the Malian authorities in vain to allow it to go there to investigate in order to shed light on these events.



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