A thousand mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group are now in Mali, the head of French diplomacy said on Monday February 14, repeating that the conditions were "no
longer met
" for the continuation of the mission of the French force Barkhane in this country.
Read alsoColonel Michel Goya: “France should have stopped in time in Mali”
"
Wagner is a thousand (men) now
" in Mali, declared Jean-Yves Le Drian on the France 5 channel, reaffirming that the "
displayed objective
" of this group was to "
protect the junta
" in power in Bamako.
France and its European partners in Mali claim that the junta that came to power by force in 2020 has called on this private group in recent months, engaged in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Syria or Libya.
They see in the presence of Wagner, suspected of abuses, an additional factor of instability and consider it "
incompatible
with their anti-jihadist action on the ground.
The junta, for its part, persists in denying any commitment by Wagner and evokes military cooperation with Russia.
The withdrawal of French troops?
"
If the conditions are no longer met, which is clearly the case, for us to be able to act in Mali, we will continue to fight terrorism alongside the countries of the Sahel who are quite demanding
added Jean-Yves le Drian.
"
It is the junta which is isolating itself, which is losing, which is bankrupt and which will have to assume the rest
", he added, accusing
it of "hindering the operational capacities
" of Barkhane and his allies in this country.
France, which has been fighting jihadist groups in the Sahel for nine years, could announce the withdrawal of its troops from Mali in the next few days, as the ruling junta in Bamako shows growing hostility towards the presence French.
Paris nevertheless shows the firm intention to continue to fight against the spread of jihadism in the region, wishing to strengthen its cooperation activities there and provide key capacities to local staffs, according to concordant sources.
“
The President of the Republic wanted us to reorganize but we are not leaving (from the Sahel).
We are going to reorganize to ensure the continuation of the fight against terrorism
, ”insisted Jean-Yves Le Drian.