France warns Russia against paramilitary involvement in Mali

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

France warns Russia against paramilitary involvement in Mali

Fri, September 24, 2021, 12:44 PM·1 min read

France's foreign minister has warned his Russian counterpart against involving paramilitaries from the controversial Wagner group in Mali's conflict.

"On Mali, the minister alerted his Russian counterpart to the serious consequences of the Wagner group's involvement in this country," the French foreign ministry said Friday.

Jean-Yves Le Drian met Sergey Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

According to reports, Mali's army-dominated government in Bamako is close to hiring 1,000 Wagner paramilitaries.

France has warned Mali that hiring the fighters from the Russian private-security firm would isolate the country internationally.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/france-warns-russia-against-paramilitary-164430543.html

[Ghost Dog]

1. Hmm. A). Wagner is private enterprise. B). Isn't Mali decolonized?

Last edited Sun Sep 26, 2021, 05:05 PM - Edit history (1)

C). There is an insurgency to be fought.

[Eugene]

2. Mercenaries are outlaws, and Mali is a signatory to the UN Mercanenary Convention.

Russian mercenaries are also responsible for widespread human rights violations in the region, especially in the Central African Republic.

The military takeover of help create the mess they are in. Among other things, it gave al Qaeda an opening to come in and ransack much of the country.

Countries don't have the sovereign right to commit war crimes. Russia's actions by proxy are also likely to destabilize the region even further.

[Ghost Dog]

3. I think insurgency started first, then military takeover.

The government invites both French military and private contractor assistance. Is that uncommon? It's a shame the United Nations Mercenary Convention isn't properly enforced everywhere.