Mali: The French army filmed Russian “mercenaries” burying the dead
The French army, using a drone, has filmed what it claims are Russian “mercenaries” burying bodies near the Jossi base in northern Mali. According to her, this maneuver is aimed at accusing the French of leaving a mass grave behind. In this video, which the French General Staff described as a “media attack” and which AFP was able to access, we can see soldiers from the Caucasus getting busy around the bodies they are covering in sand.
Dans le même temps, un dénommé Dia Diarra, qui se proclame « ancien militaire » et « patriote malien », a diffusé sur son compte Twitter des images de ce supposé charnier, dont une photo de cadavres floutés enterrés viable dans le video. The first comment was a comment: “This is what the French left behind when they left the base in Josie (…) We can’t be silent about it!” According to the French General Staff, the Dia Diarra account “is most likely a fake account created by Wagner,” the Russian private military company.
A maneuver to discredit Barkhane’s force?
This maneuver to discredit Barkhane’s force appears coordinated. It represents the multiple media attacks that French soldiers were subjected to several months ago”, points out the French army, which also considers that “a comparison between the images posted on Twitter and the images collected by the specialized sensor makes this possible.” To a direct link between what the mercenaries do Wagner and what is erroneously attributed to the French army.”
However, according to the French army, these “extortions testify to the methods of action carried out by Wagner’s mercenaries, who have been observed in the Central African Republic since its spread, and which have been denounced by many international organizations and NGOs.” As part of the disengagement from Mali announced last February, The French army officially handed over, on Tuesday, the keys to the José base to the Malian Armed Forces (Fama).which accommodated 300 French soldiers.
The French military withdrawal from Mali Against the background of tensions between France and the ruling junta, which the Westerners accuse of using the services of the Wagner Group. Bamako, for its part, evokes simple Russian advisers. And the staff warned, Tuesday, to expect media attacks on the occasion of the handover of the Josi base.
A spokesman for the General Staff, Colonel Pascal Ianni, had specified that a “documented” inventory of the base had been drawn up, in order to protect France from possible accusations. Colonel Iani recalls: “Several months ago, French forces were accused of participating in smuggling (…), arming terrorists and even committing abuses.”
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