In the spotlight: the tug-of-war continues between Paris and Bamako

Audio 00:04

Jihadist fighters in Mali (illustrative image).

© AP / STR

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

4 min

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The tension is still very high about the possible arrival in Mali of the mercenaries of the Russian group Wagner.

France considers this Russian presence " 

incompatible

 " with the European presence.

The Malian government, for its part, says it wants to have " 

a plan B 

", because of the French military redeployment.

And in the Malian press, the criticisms continue to fuse in the direction of Paris.

Thus for

Info-Matin

, “ 

France, accustomed to letters of seal, can only accept one of its former colonies, Mali, for which more than 50 of its soldiers have died in operation since 2013, is giving up on duty. of gratitude ad vitam aeternam to her for imagining a pact with Putin's Russia via the Wagner company.

For this France

, continues

Info-Matin

,

champion of human rights and country of freedom, sovereign Mali is not free to contract with whomever it wants for its security and defense.

No, he should always take his orders from her!

 "

France: "invader, oppressor, exploiter ..."

Le Matinal

raises the tone again: " 

France has not stopped its neocolonialist policy in Mali

," he says.

She compromised herself through her clumsy conduct by considering Mali as a vassal state. It has totally failed in its fight against terrorism and the reconstruction of the Malian army. Worse, her deal with the jihadist movements on the ground has finished exposing her. In the end, France, which was perceived as a savior, suddenly became an invader, an oppressor, savagely abusing our mineral resources without the knowledge of the authorities.

 "

So, continues

Le Matinal

, “ 

the agreement in gestation between Mali and the Wagner group marks a decisive turning point in the reconquest of the north of the country.

With Wagner, it is the end of the diplomacy of influence, of the French lie.

In eight years, for example, France has sown chaos in the Central African Republic, which Wagner has brought under control in 6 months.

 "

Wagner: risk of slippage ...

Precisely, the daily

Enquête

, in Dakar, is closely interested in this famous Wagner group: " 

The mercenaries who make France tremble

 ", headlines the Senegalese daily.

Survey

interviewed several specialists. For Mouhamadou Lamine Bara Lo, doctor in political science and specialist in security issues, “ 

the junta

[in power in Mali]

 wants an extension of the transition; what Paris opposes. So this Russian mercenaries card could be used as a means of pressure on France and on other international organizations.

 "

However, he continues, “ 

the arrival of these Russian mercenaries risks posing problems of engagement and coordination with the international forces (United Nations, Barkhane force and European Takuba).

 In addition, he remarks, " 

these paramilitaries are not very careful about human rights issues and the laws that govern war." The Wagner group is accused in the Central African Republic of numerous abuses against civilians.

 "

For his part, Colonel Mamadou Samb, director of training at the Dakar Center for Advanced Defense and Security Studies, still interviewed by the daily

Enquête

, believes that "

 recourse to the private Russian security group could allow the Malian security forces to become more effective in the face of the jihadists.

However

, he continues,

the risk of slippages and blunders against the civilian populations exists.

So, it will be up to Malian officials to ensure control over the Wagner group's rules of engagement, if they decide to work with them.

 "

France trapped

Anyway, " 

The

has France is trapped

 " in the Sahel, advanced Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos in an article published by

Le Monde Africa

. For the French researcher, “ 

the military cooperation between France and the European Union has not made it possible to avoid the coups d'état, the abuses and the violations of human rights which have fueled the Islamist protest. Worse, they sometimes trained the men who destabilized the region, suppressed in the blood of peaceful demonstrators and ratified the withdrawal of government armies from the combat zones where Barkhane's soldiers took over by relieving the local soldiers of their responsibilities. safe. Today, France is trapped, so

, says Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos.

To leave is to take the risk of seeing the situation deteriorate even further.

To stay is to endorse the pursuit of a policy that does not stop the advance of jihadist groups.

In either case, the French army will leave with a feeling of failure.

 "

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