Olaf Scholz calls the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali devastating

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Olaf Scholz in Dakar

Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply criticized the presence of Russian mercenaries in Mali.

This is devastating, said Scholz on Sunday during a visit to the Senegalese capital Dakar.

That's why Germany had to react, but wants to continue to take responsibility for the stability of the Sahel zone.

At the request of the military government, the Russian mercenary group Wagner is active in Mali.

The security situation in the entire Sahel region, which stretches south of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, is precarious.

A number of armed groups are active there.

Some have sworn allegiance to the terrorist groups "Islamic State" (IS) or al-Qaeda.

The instability is one reason why thousands of people from the region make their way to Europe.

On Friday, the Bundestag extended the two mandates for the Bundeswehr operations in Mali and Niger for one year:

more on the subject

• Missions »Minusma« and EUTM:Bundestag extends Bundeswehr missions in Mali and Niger

• "Espionage" and "subversion": Russian mercenaries stage a mass grave - Mali blames France

• After withdrawal of the French: Bundeswehr mission in Mali could become more dangerousBy Matthias Gebauer

• German participation in the UN stabilization mission Minusma in Mali will be expanded with an upper limit of 1,400 soldiers instead of the previous 1,100. This is intended to compensate for the foreseeable withdrawal of the French armed forces.

• The participation of the Bundeswehr in the European training mission EUTM is to be concentrated primarily on Niger in the future and the training of Malian soldiers is to be ended.

  To this end, the upper limit for the mandate will be reduced to just 300 from the previous 600 soldiers.

Scholz is currently on his first trip to Africa as Chancellor.

Other stops on the three-day trip include Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, and South Africa, the most important partner country in sub-Saharan Africa.

During his trip, Scholz will also talk about why many African countries have so far refrained from clearly condemning Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

When the UN General Assembly voted to condemn Russia's war of aggression, 141 of the 193 UN member states voted in favor and five against, including Eritrea in Africa.

In addition to China, India and Brazil, the 35 abstentions included 17 African countries, including South Africa and Senegal, two of the Chancellor's target countries.

Chancellor visits German combat swimmers in Niger

On Monday, the SPD politician will visit the Bundeswehr soldiers stationed in West African Niger.

At the Tillia base, combat swimmers from the Navy train Nigerien special forces for the fight against Islamist terror in the region.

According to the Operations Command, around 200 German soldiers are involved in the "Gazelle" mission, which has been running since 2018.

It is the Chancellor's first visit to troops abroad.

The "Gazelle" mission is part of the EU training mission EUTM.

dop/dpa/Reuters