William Molinie
modified to
07:12, November 22, 2022
The group of international investigators “All Eyes On Wagner” drew up in a report the assessment of one year of presence of the Russian mercenaries of Wagner in Mali. At least 23 cases of assassinations and human rights violations have been identified with a “high degree of certainty”. What does this report reveal? Europe 1 takes stock.
A year ago, Wagner’s first mercenaries landed at Bamako airport in Mali. At the beginning about 500, they are today according to several military sources at least a thousand and have settled in about ten bases in the country. What conclusions can be drawn from Wagner’s presence in Mali? This is the subject of the report of a group of international investigators “All Eyes On Wagner” which tries to identify several salient points. Among them, the count of at least “23 cases of human rights violations and assassinations with a high degree of certainty” that can be attributed to mercenaries from the Russian private military company Wagner.
These allegations were cross-checked, cross-referenced with photos and videos online. Sometimes even with local human sources.
Predation in other African countries
“Often, [les mercenaires] are part of a counter-terrorism operation launched by the Malian army. They will arrive by helicopter. They make arrests when there are markets. Then they take people to interrogate them. And afterwards, there are a certain number of assassinations committed at that time”, explains to the micro Europe 1 one of the analysts of this group of investigators.
Beyond the modus operandi and the verification of the alleged abuses, the report questions the future of Wagner in Mali. The looted villages suggest that the mercenaries are struggling to earn money in Mali.
Moreover, the war in Ukraine has reshuffled priorities. “Are we going to puncture on certain staff in Mali to send them to Ukraine and rotate them?” Asks the analyst. However, “Africa remains hyper strategic for Africa”, she continues. Wagner may be interested in other African countries. Like Burkina Faso, weakened in recent months by several coups. Or Sierra Leone where representatives of Wagner have in recent days started a so-called business trip.