The United States believes security in Mali has deteriorated significantly since the junta said it called mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner company, whose presence severely limits American anti-jihadist efforts, a senior official said Wednesday.
“The Malian junta brought Wagner in and terrorism got a lot worse,” US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said in a video conference, returning from a trip to the Sahel, including Mali, between October 16 and 20. She reported an approximately 30% increase in terrorist attacks over the past six months.
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These words contradict those of the soldiers who violently seized power in 2020 in a country shaken by violence and the spread of jihadism since 2012. The Malian authorities have been turning their backs on the French ally and its partners for a year now and towards Russia. They reiterate that they reversed the security trend and routed the jihadist groups.
The USA, France and Westerners accuse the junta of having used the security company Wagner for the actions it has denounced. The Malian authorities deny this and speak of cooperation with the Russian army in the name of an old state-to-state relationship. Victoria Nuland said she raised US concerns about the Malian government during her visit.
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“This interim government made very poor decisions to bring in Wagner and include them in their security apparatus and we are seeing the consequences of that with increased violence and terrorist attacks and the displacement of United Nations forces,” she said. She accused Wagner of putting pressure on Mali to restrict the operations of the UN peacekeeping mission (Minusma), which Minusma himself complained about.
Victoria Nuland also reiterated the numerous allegations of abuse committed by Wagner’s men against the civilian population. Mali’s neighbors are also “very concerned” about Wagner’s presence in Mali, she said, citing Mauritania, where she has also been, which she described as an “island of stability in a very, very tough neighborhood.”
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