Mali has been fighting alongside foreign forces against armed Islamist fighters for the past ten years. However, since Mali’s military took power in two coups starting in 2020, the relationship between the junta under Colonel Assimi Goita and the international community has been strained.
French forces withdrew from Mali after relations between France and the military junta, which took power after a coup last year, deteriorated. The Austrian Armed Forces are currently involved with a total of ten soldiers in EU (EUTM/8) and UNO (MINUSMA/2) Mali missions.
However, after the planned elections in Mali were suspended, the EU drastically reduced its training mission in the West African crisis state. The Western forces were replaced by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, who were originally supposed to support the Malian military in its fight against Islamists.
Number of civilians killed and conflict increased
Diplomats, analysts and human rights groups believe that extremists linked to al-Qaeda and the IS group have only grown stronger since the arrival of the Wagner mercenaries in the spring. This is also indicated by current statistics: According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), more than 2,000 civilians have been killed since December 2021, compared to around 500 in the previous 12 months.
At least a third of the deaths recorded last year were due to attacks involving the Wagner group, according to data compiled by ACLED. “They are killing civilians and, by their mere presence, are giving the Malian security forces the green light to pursue their worst inclinations,” said Michael Shurkin, director of global programs at the Atlantic Council’s advisory group 14 North Strategies.
CARE: One of the greatest neglected crises
There are also fears that the Russian presence will further destabilize the already ailing region. According to the aid organization CARE, the situation in Mali is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of the past year that has been neglected by the media. In addition to the armed conflicts, climate change would now also make a major contribution.
In combat zones, women also report cases of physical, psychological and sexual violence. The already existing food crisis in the country of 21 million inhabitants is currently being exacerbated by armed conflicts. 7.5 million need humanitarian aid, 300,000 children suffer from acute malnutrition.
Report: Eleven million dollars a month for mercenaries
Up to 1,000 mercenaries have been deployed in Mali so far, according to a report by the US Military Academy’s Counter-Terrorism Center, which studies extremist violence. The mercenary group receives almost eleven million dollars (ten million euros) a month for “security and training”. The report said the mercenaries were struggling to make any significant gains as jihadist violence increased.
During the rainy season between June and September – a period when fighting usually subsides – there have been more than 90 attacks on civilians and the military by an extremist group, compared with six in the same period last year, the report said. At least 42 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack on a barracks by an IS-affiliated group in August.
Bloody attack in Moura
According to eyewitness reports, when pursuing Islamist fighters, the mercenaries often make no distinction between Islamist fighters and innocent civilians – as an incident at the end of March in the 10,000-inhabitant town of Moura in Mali shows. In March, the Malian army and mercenaries rounded up and killed an estimated 300 men in the city in the bloody attack.
Some of them were believed to be Islamic extremists, but most were civilians. The investigation cited 27 people, including witnesses, traders, community leaders, diplomats and security analysts. According to research by the New York Times (“NYT”), human rights violations in Mali resembled a new pattern of torture, beatings and executions that would increasingly emerge in other countries where Wagner mercenaries were deployed.
The Malian Ministry of Defense reported a similar incident at the time, but said it had killed 203 “terrorists” and arrested 51 others. “There are numerous reports of human rights abuses throughout the region where they operate,” US Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said of the Wagner mercenaries. “And we fear that these forces are not interested in the security of the people of Mali, but rather in enriching themselves and plundering the country, and that they are making the terrorist situation worse.”
According to Samuel Ramani of the Royal United Services Institute, Russia’s fight against terrorism is not credible not only in Africa but also globally. “What we have seen repeatedly is that Russia and Wagner Group forces are much better at keeping authoritarian regimes in power than actually fighting rebel and terrorist groups,” Ramani said, citing their limited knowledge of the areas , strained relationships with lower-ranking officers, and a rigid command and control structure.
Military junta denies Russian involvement
Alassane Maiga, the military junta’s communications chief, said once again, according to the AP news agency, that Wagner does not operate in the country. When asked about the attacks on civilians, Maiga said the Malian government was protecting its citizens and their property. “The army’s protection and security missions are conducted with respect for human rights and international humanitarian law,” he said.
The Wagner group did not respond to requests for comment. At a UN Security Council debate last week, Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva dismissed attempts from abroad to “smear Russian aid to Mali,” where Moscow has a bilateral agreement to support the interim government. She did not mention the Wagner group.
Many Malians say they now detest Wagner, but fear nothing will change unless there is a new government after the February elections. “It is up to the Malians to decide what steps to take to restore peace in Mali,” said Seydou Diawara, leader of an opposition group. “Violence and pressure from the international community on the military can only worsen the security and humanitarian situation.”
Known for controversial methods
The Wagner group was founded in 2014. Among other things, it has recruited thousands of prison inmates for the war in Ukraine in exchange for reduced sentences. For years, the Kremlin first denied Wagner’s existence, then claimed that the Russian state had nothing to do with the group. Putin’s confidante Yevgeny Prigozhin has only been active as head of the organization for a few months. He goes in and out of Russian prisons to recruit prisoners for the war.
However, the methods of the Wagner mercenaries have been the subject of international criticism for years. Since 2014, the mercenaries have been active in several countries that are of strategic and economic interest to Russia – in addition to Mali, Syria, Sudan and the Central African Republic, for example. They have repeatedly been accused of serious war crimes and human rights violations.