Russian mercenaries in Africa have been linked to massacres in which several hundred civilians have died, raising new fears about the impact of Moscow’s intensifying interventions on the stability and security of countries across the continent.
Western officials have so far largely steered clear of naming the perpetrators of killings but witnesses, local community leaders, diplomats and local analysts blamed many of the deaths on fighters deployed by the Wagner Group, a network of private companies run by a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
The incidents have occurred in Mali, the strategic west African country where Wagner arrived last year after striking a deal with its new military rulers.
Internal Malian army documents seen by the Guardian reveal the presence of Wagner members - referred to as “Russian instructors” - on “mixed missions” with Malian soldiers and gendarmes during operations in which many civilians have been killed.
According to data compiled by the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), as many as 456 civilians died in nine incidents involving Malian forces and Wagner between January and mid-April this year.
By far the most serious incident occurred in March when the Wagner Group is alleged to have been involved in a massacre in Moura, a village controlled by Islamist extremists, where between 350 and 380 men were killed over a four-day period.
Last week new allegations surfaced about two shootings in villages around the town of Hombori in the central Mopti region, following the death of one or possibly two Wagner mercenaries accompanying Malian troops on operations against Islamist militants.
Mali’s military rulers, who took power in a coup in May last year, have said the Russians in the country are instructors and not deployed in combat roles. The army – sometimes know by the abbreviation FAMA – has denied a Russian was killed on 19 April and said the casualty was one of their own soldiers. It has also denied killing any civilians and said 18 terrorists had been neutralised during vigorous security operations.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
.jpg)
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB