French soldiers deployed in Gao, in northern Mali. Photo: Reuters.
Mali has informed of the failed coup attempt and the role that the Russian private military company Wagner played in disrupting said plot.
On Monday, May 16, the government of Mali announced that on May 12 a group of local soldiers, foreign mercenaries and units from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries tried to organize a coup in the African country.
However, according to various reports, thanks to soldiers from the private military company Wagner stationed in Mali, the coup attempt was thwarted.
According to the Malian government statement, those involved in the coup have been arrested and will be tried. In addition, a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that ten people have been arrested until now, and that efforts are being made to find others involved in the coup.
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After the coup attempt, security measures in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and the country’s borders have been tightened. The government also claimed that the situation is now under control.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Administration and Decentralization of Mali, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, stressed that this coup was backed by a Western country, but did not provide further details.
However, the coup attempt has been attributed to France, which, with NATO support, deployed its armed forces in five countries of the African Sahel (Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad) in 2013. This move was taken under the pretext of fighting terrorism, but, according to public opinion, it was, in reality, a French move to further its own interests in the rich natural resources of the region.
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On May 13, the day after the coup attempt, thousands of people demonstrated in Bamako calling for the expulsion of the French mission and in support of Russia’s aid, displaying slogans such as “Thank you, Russia and Putin” and “Occupying armies out of Mali.”
The government of Mali has tensed relation with France, and has turned to Russia for weapons acquisitions. It has also announced that it will withdraw from the G5 Sahel group of military forces that was created with the pretext of combating terrorism.
Despite the presence of the French military in five countries of the Sahel, extremists continue their onslaught in the region.
Featured image: French soldiers deployed in Gao, in northern Mali. Photo: Reuters.
(HispanTV)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
