A thousand mercenaries from the Russian group Wagner are now in Mali, said Monday evening on France 5 the head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian.
“Wagner is a thousand (men) now” in Mali, he said, reaffirming that his “displayed objective” of this group was to “protect the junta” in power in Bamako.
The junta “will have to take over”
“If the conditions are no longer met, which is clearly the case, for us to be able to act in Mali, we will continue to fight terrorism alongside the countries of the Sahel who are quite demanding added Jean-Yves Le Drian.
“It is the junta which is isolating itself, which is losing, which is bankrupt and which will have to take over”, he added, accusing it of “hindering the operational capacities” of Barkhane and his allies in this country.
“The President of the Republic wanted us to reorganize but we are not leaving (from the Sahel). We are going to reorganize to ensure the continuation of the fight against terrorism, ”insisted Jean-Yves Le Drian.
France could announce in the coming days the withdrawal of its troops
France and its European partners in Mali claim that the junta that came to power by force in 2020 has called on Wagner in recent months, a private group engaged in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Syria or Libya. . They see in the presence of Wagner, suspected of abuses, an additional factor of instability and consider it “incompatible” with their anti-jihadist action on the ground.
The junta, for its part, persists in denying any commitment by Wagner and evokes military cooperation with Russia.
France, which has been fighting jihadist groups in the Sahel for nine years, could announce the withdrawal of its troops from Mali in the next few days, as the ruling junta in Bamako shows growing hostility towards the presence French.
Paris nevertheless shows the firm intention to continue to fight against the spread of jihadism in the region, wishing to strengthen its cooperation activities there and provide key capacities to local staffs.