Report spotlights tensions in Mali military over Wagner mercenaries

Russian private mercenary operations in Mali have sowed resentment within the West African nation's army and military government, caused security lapses, and failed to yield any mining concessions, a new report has found.

The Wagner group began operating in Mali after the military, which seized power in two coups in 2020 and 2021, ejected French and United Nations forces that had been involved in fighting Islamist insurgents for a decade.

Wagner announced its departure in June, but Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it would stay on. About 70-80% of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner mercenaries, according to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by Reuters.

Rights groups including New York-based Human Rights Watch have repeatedly accused Wagner, fighting alongside Mali's army, of committing atrocities against civilians.

But the report - based on interviews with officials from Mali's military, intelligence agency, finance and mines ministries, and published on Wednesday by investigative research group The Sentry - found that Wagner had also caused trouble for the military and government it was hired to support.

Citing interviews with Malian soldiers, it said Wagner fighters would "often operate outside the chain of command", using army equipment and even carrying out security operations without permission or prior notice.

These missions sometimes led to the loss of equipment, vehicles or personnel, the report said. At other times, they had left Malian soldiers unexpectedly without equipment to fight when insurgent attacks took place, it said.

According to the report, Malian soldiers resent Russian mercenaries who receive "preferential treatment", such as medical evacuations that are otherwise limited due to a scarcity of fuel.

The Russian Defence Ministry and Wagner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DESTABILISATION ATTEMPT

Earlier this month, Mali arrested more than 30 soldiers and military officers accused of trying to destabilise the military government.

Sentry investigators told Reuters that the arrests followed a meeting between two generals and several colonels to discuss grievances, including the fact that "Russians" still appeared to be in command in the military bases where they operated.

Any destabilisation attempt would likely be related at least in part to how Wagner and Africa Corps have treated Malian troops, The Sentry investigators said.

Defence Minister Sadio Camara is believed by U.S. officials to have secured the agreement for Wagner to operate in Mali; the U.S. Treasury Department in 2023 sanctioned him for doing so. But The Sentry report said President Assimi Goita himself blocked Wagner from obtaining mining licenses or concessions as payment.

Instead, it found that for Wagner and Africa Corps, "no viable business has been set up; relations with the military... have only worsened with time; and Wagner's fearsome reputation has been undercut by a series of military setbacks".