France, the US and other Western nations accuse the junta in Bamako of hiring the notorious Russian private military company Wagner. Bamako denies it, talks about interstate cooperation with Russia.
At least 13 civilians were killed the day before Sunday in central Mali by fire from the country’s armed forces and “white soldiers”, local elected officials and a representative of a cultural organization of the Pel tribe told AFP yesterday, information that was denied by a source close to the military regime.
France, the US and other Western nations accuse the junta in Bamako of hiring the notorious Russian private military company Wagner. Bamako denies it, talks about interstate cooperation with Russia.
“On Sunday in Geletze”, a village in central Mali, “a strong force of the army arrived together with white soldiers. Shots were fired and arrests were made. We count at least 13 dead,” a local elected official said on condition of anonymity.
The information was confirmed by another local elected official, who also asked not to be named. Among the victims was a woman and her two daughters, according to the latest source.
A resident of Geletje said that “the village was attacked” because “the army and the white soldiers of Wagner thought it was a jihadist location.”
An executive of the organization Tabital Pulakuu, which aims to promote the culture of the Pel, one of Mali’s tribes, said that “more than 20 civilians were killed or arrested on Sunday in Geleje”. According to the same source, it was about ordinary villagers.
“There are a lot of clashes. Not all Pels are jihadists. Those who were killed were innocent civilians,” he insisted.
A source close to the armed forces denied the information. “We categorically reject these accusations,” the source told AFP.
Mali remains mired in a multidimensional crisis, security, political, humanitarian, after separatist and jihadist insurgencies broke out in 2012 in its north.
US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who had just returned from the Sahel, said on October 26 that the security situation in Mali had deteriorated rapidly after the junta invited — according to the US and its allies — Wagner mercenaries to its territory in 2021. .
The military that seized power in a 2020 coup in Mali scrapped the alliance with France and its partners about a year ago and turned to Russia. The regime assures that the trend in the security situation has thus been reversed and that the jihadist organizations have fled in disorder.
Mali’s military has been accused of atrocities for years — and by the UN mission in the country. The military regime assures that human rights are respected and investigations are conducted when violations are reported, but the findings of these investigations are almost never made public.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
