15 countries oppose the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali

Just a few months ago, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the beginning of a reduction in the presence of French troops in Mali. Thus, Operation Barkhane, originally deployed to try to fight terrorism in the Sahel, was beginning to have an expiry date, although Macron did not speak of a withdrawal as such.

With a reduced French presence in Mali, countries such as Russia have been quick to take an interest in expanding their influence in the region. For Moscow, the reduction of French troops has been seen as an opportunity to increase its presence in the region, and it has made its case after the Russian paramilitary company Wagner began to strengthen its contacts with the Malian authorities. 

This rapprochement between Russian mercenaries and Mali has been condemned by a total of 15 countries, which claim that the Russian presence could aggravate the fight against terrorism and encourage human rights violations. These countries, which maintain the Takuba anti-terrorist force, have signed a joint declaration with France in which they firmly condemn "the deployment of mercenaries on Malian territory".

The Takuba force is a group made up of European military personnel whose purpose is to advise the Malian armed forces in order to achieve stability in the country and help in the fight against terrorism. Integrated in the framework of Operation Barkhane, this special force operates in three military bases of the Malian army located in Ménaka, Ansongo and Gao.

Alongside this they claim that the Russian deployment will accentuate "the degradation of the security situation in West Africa". 
According to France, the deployment of the Wagner group "is ongoing" and they point out that a "rotation of Russian transport planes" has been detected at Bamako airport.

In this movement there is "an involvement of the Russian state", they point out, "a camp for the reception of mercenaries has been set up urgently on the outskirts of the airport", as well as various shipments of foodstuffs. They also claim that the incursion of several Russian geologists has been detected, who are showing a growing interest in the country's mineral resources.

The signed statement also recalled that the European Union has approved a series of sanctions against Wagner's presence and several entities have already accused the company of committing "serious human rights violations" in countries where it has been deployed, including torture and executions. 

These mercenaries have been detected in conflicts such as in Syria, Ukraine, Libya and the Central African Republic. The group, owned by Yevgeni Prigozhin, has already been labelled by France as a "red line" against which it has continued to warn of the dangers of its presence in Mali.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister of the Malian Transitional Government, Choguel Maiga, indicated that his country is "a sovereign state" and that they would not hesitate to call on the Wagner group if they deemed it necessary to guarantee their security. "Our objective is to obtain the means to ensure the security of our citizens by relying on several partners, including the Russian Federation," he told the media. 

As for the elections scheduled for February 2022, Maiga has already stated that the elections "are not an end in themselves" and that the government's priority now is to try to "ensure security in the country", so it is more than likely that the elections will be postponed in a climate strongly marked by instability.