Mali has announced it is cutting diplomatic ties with Ukraine after the latter was revealed to be training separatists to use drones.
The Americans are cutting spending everywhere because… “wow if you receive more than the one who doesn't have”
Bamako announced yesterday, Sunday, that it is cutting off diplomatic relations with Ukraine, after a Ukrainian official “confessed”, according to it, to Kiev's “involvement” in the heavy defeats suffered at the end of July by the Armed Forces of Mali (AFM) and allies the mercenaries of the Russian private company Wagner during battles with separatists and al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in the northern part of the Sahel state.
The “transitional government of Mali” (a.k.a. Military dictatorship, Junta, etc.) is proceeding with the “interruption, with immediate effect, of diplomatic relations with Ukraine”, announced the government representative, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga. It should be mentioned that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and their dictators are in an alliance.
The government of Mali “was informed, with deep astonishment, of the statements (…) with which Andriy Yussoff , a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, confessed to the involvement of Ukraine in the cowardly, treacherous and barbaric attack of armed terrorist organizations that led to the death of elements of the Defense and Security Forces (…) in Tenzawaten and caused material damage,” Colonel Maiga emphasized in the statement of.
The three dictators Asimi Goita of Mali, General Abdelrahman Tiani of Niger and Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso pose for photos during the first regular summit of heads of state and government of the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) in Niamey, Niger on July 6, 2024.
It is reported that the separatists received information from the Ukrainian side, but that was not all that happened
“The fact that the rebels received the necessary information that allowed them to conduct a successful operation against the Russian war criminals was already noticed by the whole world (…) We will not disclose details. But more information will be given when the time comes,” said Mr. Yusov on Ukrainian television last Monday. The video was reproduced by the Ukrainian ambassador to Senegal.
The government of Mali considers that Kiev's actions “violate the national sovereignty” of the African state, constitute “foreign intervention” and “support for international terrorism”, the spokesman added.
Mali's army and Russians its allies in late July suffered one of the heaviest defeats in years in hostilities in northern Mali, reportedly suffering dozens of casualties in fighting with separatists and an attack by jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda. These losses were the heaviest ever suffered by the private military company Wagner in Africa, analysts estimate.
What Le Monde reports
Le Monde reports in its related report that “According to confirmed sources, the Ukrainian authorities are working with pro-independence fighters operating in the north of the country, providing them with strategic information and training them in the use of unmanned aircraft”.
According to a rebel commander, “exchanges” are actually taking place with Ukrainian intelligence to see how they can work together. “We have ties with the Ukrainians, but just like we have with everyone else, the French, the Americans and others,” said CSP-DPA spokesman Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane.
Since they were expelled from Mali's army and Wagner from their historic stronghold of Kindal in northern Mali in November 2023, the rebels were forced to regroup to continue their fight against the ruling junta in Bamako.
Rebel announcements< /p>
An al-Qaida-affiliated group said it killed 50 Wagner Russian mercenaries and 10 Malian soldiers in an ambush in Mali's northern Kindal region, near the border with Algeria, on Saturday, according to the SITE intelligence group.
The ambush occurred on the same day that a Tuareg rebel movement known as the Standing Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) said it had killed and wounded dozens of Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries(80 Russians and 47 from Mali) during days of fighting in the border town of Tinjawaten.
Wagner said on Monday that his fighters who fought alongside Malian soldiers from July 22 to 27 near Tinjawaten suffered heavy losses, including the death of their commander Sergey Shevchenko.
Ukrainian special forces are fighting Wagner's mercenaries, in addition to Mali and Sudan, as the video above shows.
< p>Sources: APE, Le Monde, Reuters/in.gr
