Le Monde: Russian mercenaries from PMC Wagner arrived in Mali | News from Germany about Russia

In Mali, 300-350 Russian mercenaries arrived, they headed from the capital of the country, Bamako, to the city of Timbuktu, located in the center of the country. This was reported on Friday, January 7, by the French newspaper Le Monde, citing unnamed French and local sources.

The number of mercenaries in Mali from Wagner’s private military company (PMC) – an unofficial military organization, according to some sources, connected to the Kremlin – has grown from four people to several hundred since the end of December, Le Monde said. The first Russian mercenary, according to the newspaper, was killed on Monday, January 3, in an explosion on the side of the road near the town of Mopti.

Malian military junta denies cooperation with PMC Wagner

The Malian military junta denies the presence of Wagner PMC mercenaries in the country. In late December, its representatives said that only “Russian instructors” were in Mali, invited to the country to train the Malian army and strengthen the military potential of the national defense. Several Western countries, including Germany, in a joint statement on December 24, condemned the deployment of Russian fighters from the Wagner PMC in the West African country.

Earlier, Russian media reported that the military, who came to power in Mali as a result of a coup in May 2021, asked PMC Wagner to send the company’s fighters to the country. The Malian interim government justified the deployment of foreign paramilitaries in the country as a danger to the country after the departure of French troops. In recent weeks, France has begun withdrawing troops from the country, leaving military bases, in particular in the Timbuktu region.

The French military mission, together with the UN mission Minusma, was supposed to stabilize the situation in the country after the coup and the growth of the influence of Islamist militias after 2013. Within the framework of the UN multidisciplinary integrated stabilization mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the German military is also present in this country – their number cannot exceed 1,100 people. In June, Bundeswehr employees were injured in a suicide attack – 12 people were taken to German military hospitals, three in serious condition.

The MINUSMA mission, which killed about 260 troops, is considered one of the most dangerous UN operations and includes about 15 thousand people in total.

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Ten-year war “all against all”

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

It all started with the overthrow of Gaddafi

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

Key figure: Khalifa Haftar

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Libya: Civil War and Geopolitical Conflict

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Author: Andrey Gurkov