France accused PMC Wagner of plundering Mali | Politics news from Germany

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused the Russian private military company Wagner of embezzling Mali’s resources. “They are already using the resources of the country in exchange for protecting the junta. They are plundering Mali,” Le Drian said in an interview with the weekly Journal du Dimanche, published on Sunday night, January 30.

According to the US military, hundreds of Wagner PMC mercenaries are in the Malian province of the Sahel. The Armed Forces of Mali deny this information. Wagner PMC militants are “former Russian soldiers”, the Russian Federation “arms them” and provides them with “logistics support”, the head of the French Foreign Ministry said.

Wagner militants are also present in the Central African Republic, according to the UN and French authorities. “The Wagner PMC exploits the weakness of certain states to infiltrate them (…) to increase Russian influence in Africa,” Le Drian added.

Denmark to withdraw its troops from Mali

A week earlier, Mali’s interim government, formed after a military coup in August 2020, demanded that Denmark immediately withdraw from the country a newly deployed military contingent of several dozen people. On January 27, Copenhagen decided to withdraw its troops from Mali.

In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche, the head of the French Foreign Ministry did not specify whether the incident would also affect other European troops deployed in the region to fight jihadists.

“Our fight against terrorism must continue,” he stressed, “but probably on different terms.” However, he noted, this does not mean the withdrawal of European forces from Mali.

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Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Ten-year war “all against all”

In North African Libya, a civil war has been going on for almost a decade. A variety of forces are involved in it: nationalist militants, Islamists, Tuareg nomads, local tribes, foreign mercenaries. The situation becomes even more confusing from the fact that the two main warring factions receive the support of various countries. This makes the conflict international and geopolitical.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

It all started with the overthrow of Gaddafi

The armed struggle for power in Libya has not stopped since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 during the uprising that broke out as part of the “Arab spring” and supported by an international military operation. In this picture, the bloody dictator, who has ruled for four decades, tears up the UN Charter during his infamous speech in 2009 at the UN General Assembly.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Oil and gas in the desert and at sea

One of the main causes of the civil war is the rich reserves of oil and gas. Concessions for their production on land and at sea were received by various foreign companies, including the German Wintershall (one of its facilities in the photo) and the Russian concern Gazprom, which have had a joint venture in Libya since 2008. Now the industry is in decline, for example, the Greenstream underwater gas pipeline to Italy is not working.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Key figure: Khalifa Haftar

Another reason for the civil war is the struggle between supporters of the Islamic path of development and their opponents, which gave rise to the dual power reigning since 2014. Islamists have gained a foothold in the capital Tripoli in the west of the country, in the east they are opposed by the so-called parliament in Tobruk. On his behalf, the 76-year-old military leader Khalifa Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, rules.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

They control almost the whole country

The militants of the “Libyan National Army” have reason to be photographed in the pose of the winners. Haftar’s troops have conquered the vast majority of the country’s territory, except for the desert south, which is controlled by local tribes, and several areas in the very west around Tripoli. However, despite repeated attempts to storm since April 2019, they have not yet succeeded in capturing the official capital of the country.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Russian ally and CIA agent

On the side of Haftar, Russian mercenaries from the Wagner PMC are fighting. The self-proclaimed marshal, who made a military career under Gaddafi but later participated in his overthrow, studied in the USSR at the Frunze Academy and now enjoys Russian support (pictured: Moscow, November 2016). Egypt and France also relied on him. He, according to media reports, has US citizenship, where he collaborated with the CIA.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Saraca is supported by the UN and Turkey

The official leader of Libya, recognized by the international community in the person of the UN, is the head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord Faiz Saraj. It is actively supported, for example, by Italy and Turkey. Its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan concluded an agreement with Libya, in which he significantly changed in favor of his country (and to the detriment of Greece) the borders in the Mediterranean Sea.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Defense of Tripoli with Turkish help

In January 2020, Ankara deployed the Turkish military to Tripoli to strengthen the defense of the Libyan capital, since the units fighting on the side of the Government of National Accord (photo) were greatly weakened by last year’s battles with Haftar’s troops. As a result, the danger of direct clashes between Turkish military personnel and Russian Wagner mercenaries has sharply increased.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

The defeat of the local ISIS

Another side of the civil strife in Libya was the Islamist extremists from the ISIS. Taking advantage of the emerging dual power, supporters of the “Islamic state” captured the port and university city of Sirte in early 2015. However, in the fall of 2016, they were defeated by troops loyal to the Islamist authorities in Tripoli (photo) and went underground. The city, which changed hands, was badly damaged.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

Summit in Berlin: search for a solution

On January 19, 2020, leaders of more than ten countries and heads of international organizations, including the UN, came to Berlin for an international conference on Libya. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Among the outcomes of the summit are the commitment of its participants to no longer supply the parties to the conflict with weapons and a mechanism for monitoring the ceasefire.

Libya: civil war and geopolitical conflict

The European Union is concerned about the flow of refugees

The EU does not have a single position on Libya, the goals of individual countries diverge sharply. However, all EU members are interested in that it ceases to be a springboard for sending illegal migrants to Europe, many of whom die in the Mediterranean Sea. This migration and humanitarian problem cannot be solved without ending the war in Libya and restoring its statehood.

Author: Andrey Gurkov