US imposes sanctions on Mali officials for Wagner aid Italy: 82 arrests in “Game over” attack against mafia

The US has imposed sanctions on senior politicians in Mali for supporting mercenaries from the Russian military group Wagner. The measures, such as freezing all assets, have been taken by Defense Minister Sadio Camara, among others. Together with other officials, he was involved in supporting the mercenaries.

The US government justified the sanctions Monday by saying civilian deaths in the West African country had risen 278 percent since the Malian government began collaborating with Wagner. “Many fatalities resulted from operations carried out by the Malian armed forces together with members of the Wagner group.”

Mali is ruled by a military junta led by Colonel Assimi Goita. The army seized power in the Sahel country of about 23 million in two coups in 2020 and 2021 and turned to Russia, from where it promised stronger aid against Islamists. While the military junta speaks only of trainers, there are an estimated 2,000 Russian Wagner mercenaries active in the country. Recently, the Malian government had also demanded the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission Minusma from the country. The German soldiers deployed there want to withdraw before the end of the year. (saw/sda/dpa)