BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union maintains the suspension of its military training mission in Mali, without ending it for the time being, the head of diplomacy of the community, Josep Borrell, said on Tuesday in a context of growing tensions between Bamako and its international allies.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Brussels with EU defense ministers, he said the decision to suspend the operational training mission had been “reaffirmed”. “But we are not canceling this mission,” he continued.
Josep Borrell described as regrettable the choice, announced on Sunday, of the ruling junta in Bamako to withdraw Mali from the G5 Sahel.
He also criticized Mali for its proximity to the Russian group Wagner, whose mercenaries operate in the country in support of the Malian army and are accused of having committed human rights violations there.
Brussels has still not received guarantees from Bamako on the absence of interference from Russian mercenaries, said the head of European diplomacy, adding that “on the contrary, we are seeing a growing pattern of collusion and ‘accusations of serious human rights violations, which the United Nations is investigating’.
(Report Sabine Siebold, Charlotte Van Campenhout and Marine Strauss; French version Jean Terzian, edited by Sophie Louet)
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