BERLIN (Reuters) – German peacekeepers observed the presence of dozens of Russian security forces at Gao airport in northern Mali on Monday, even as the French army completed its withdrawal from the country, according to a German army document dated Tuesday.
German and British soldiers belonging to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force noticed the presence of two planes at Gao airport, including an L-39 Albatros, according to a document drawn up by the command of the German Federal Defense Force that Reuters was able to consult.
“Two hours later, 20 or 30 people dressed in non-Malian army uniforms were seen unloading equipment from a Malian plane,” the document said.
“They were most certainly members of the Russian security forces, the L-39 having probably been piloted by Russian soldiers, the Malian forces not being able to do so,” he added.
France announced on Monday that it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from Mali with the departure from the country of the last French soldiers from Barkhane, a military operation aimed at fighting Islamist movements in the Sahel.
The Malian army, which took power in 2020 following a coup, called on the private Russian group Wagner to help it fight against jihadist groups.
(Report Sabine Siebold; French version Camille Raynaud, edited by Matthieu Protard)
click here for restrictions
©2022 Reuters
