Thursday

1st Jun 2023

'Hundreds' of Russian mercenaries in Mali, EU confirms

  • The EU has been training Malian soldiers for years (Photo: eutmmali.eu)
Listen to article

Russia already has "hundreds" of mercenaries in Mali, but there was no sign they were using EU-trained Malian soldiers, the EU foreign service has said.

"The presence of mercenaries from the Wagner Group is now confirmed by several sources. We understand that, so far, several hundreds of mercenaries are deployed in Bamako and in the centre of the country," an EU spokesperson told EUobserver on Monday (17 January).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • France had led Euopean military effort in former colony (Photo: eutmmali.eu)

"Based on precedents in other countries, it is our opinion that this presence will only aggravate the crisis and pose serious risks to human rights," they added.

Wagner Group is a Kremlin-linked mercenary force named after the military call-sign of its founder, Dimitriy Utkin, a Russian former special-forces officer.

The mention of "precedents" referred to the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Syria, and east Ukraine, where Utkin personally and his men stand accused of atrocities by the UN and EU.

The EU recently folded a military-training mission in CAR after it emerged that at least one EU-trained CAR battalion was fighting under Wagner Group's command for the sake of "predating" the country's mineral wealth.

The EU also has two military training and advisory missions in Mali - EUTM Mali and EUCAP Sahel Mali.

These have stayed open, alongside an EU embassy in Bamako, despite a putsch in May last year.

"For the time being, there is no indication that EU-trained Malian soldiers are being used by Wagner," the EU foreign service told EUobserver.

But "the possibility of Malian soldiers operating alongside or under the control of Wagner mercenaries is a very serious concern, whether the units have been trained or not by EUTM Mali. This point will therefore be closely monitored," the spokesperson added.

The EU missions were "continuing their advisory and training activities" and the EU embassy was still "engaging with the authorities", the spokesperson said.

But the EU might have to "adapt their posture, depending of the evolution of the situation", the foreign service said.

The EU missions were meant to help the Malian military to fight jihadist insurgents.

EU states also have soldiers in the so-called Takuba and Minusma international forces in the region.

But France was drawing down numbers, leaving what Russia's ambassador to the EU recently called a "security vacuum".

And Sweden might pull out of Minusma due to Wagner Group.

"It is our opinion that the EU should remain engaged militarily in the Sahel because the terrorist threat has not disappeared, to the contrary," the EU foreign service told this website.

"But it is clear that, collectively with our member states, we will need to re-adjust what we do in Mali given the current circumstances," it added.

In the meantime, EU countries are preparing to blacklist Malian individuals and entities linked to the junta.

They are also planning wider sanctions to "align" with those of the Economic Community of West African States, which recently imposed a travel and economic blockade on their neighbour.

Wagner Group's arrival in Mali comes amid high tension between Nato and Russia in a return to Cold War-type geopolitics.

"We are witnessing a growing presence of our strategic competitors from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa," the EU foreign service recently said in its draft 'Strategic Compass', a defence white paper.

Some of the Mali coup plotters were trained in Russia and Russian geologists have conducted field missions in Mali, according to reports.

And when asked by EUobserver if to leave Mali would be to hand it to Wagner Group and Russia on a silver platter, the EU spokesperson said: "We are and want to remain engaged in Mali and in the Sahel".

"We do not speculate on future potential decisions," they added.

Revealed: EU migration plans for Morocco, Libya and others

Leaked commission documents, dated earlier this month, outline draft migration proposals on Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. They also provide insights into bilateral moves by individual EU states.

EU blacklists Mali's prime minister

The EU has blacklisted Mali's prime minister for postponing elections, risking a fresh tantrum from a junta with ever-closer Russia ties.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  2. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall
  3. Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods
  4. Want to stop forced migration from West Africa? Start by banning bottom trawling
  5. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  6. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  7. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  8. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us