French Officials Estimate 300-400 Russian Mercenary Troops Operating in Mali

PARIS – A senior official of the Ministry of the Armed Forces French estimated, there are currently around 300 to 400 mercenaries Russia operating in Mali . This contradicts the West African nation’s junta statement that only Russian military trainers are stationed there.

“I would say there are about 300-400 Wagner members and there is also a Russian coach, who provides the equipment,” the French official told reporters at a briefing Monday evening.

Read: More than 7,000 Russian mercenaries are still entrenched in Libya

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russian mercenaries had been deployed with Malian troops to the center of the country. The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, accusing it of carrying out clandestine operations on behalf of the Kremlin.

Other West African countries have closed their borders with Mali and cut diplomatic ties and imposed economic sanctions in response to the postponement of elections following the 2020 military coup.

The move was also in response to the arrival of private military contractors from Russia’s Wagner Group, most of whose members are former military personnel.

Read: Wagner’s 2,000 Russian mercenaries refuse to leave Libya

Mali’s junta, which has proposed a five-year transition rather than resigning in February as originally planned, said the new troops were military instructors who had come with equipment they had bought from Russia.

While President Vladimir Putin said the group does not represent the Russian state, private military contractors have the right to work anywhere in the world as long as they do not violate Russian laws.

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