Wagner militia in the Sahel: money that would be more useful in development, according to President Tebboune

In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro on December 29, 2022, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (pictured in August 2022) criticized Wagner's presence in the Sahel.

AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN

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President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, during an interview granted this week to the French daily

, mentioned, without quoting him, the Russian paramilitary group Wagner and its presence in the countries of the Sahel.

A presence that he did not hesitate to criticize. 

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With our correspondent in Algiers,

Without citing the Russian group Wagner, President Tebboune felt that the money provided to this paramilitary organization would be more useful if it went to the development of the Sahel.

“ 

 ,” says Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

This is the first time that Algiers has shown its annoyance with Wagner's increasingly visible presence in the Sahelian countries, particularly in Mali.

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: the Wagner group is "a threat to democracy and the institutions of the region", according to Hassoumi Massaoudou

Officially, Algeria has always criticized the foreign military presence in countries south of its borders and pleaded for negotiated political solutions to crises.

Algerian diplomacy has been working for some time to revive the Mali Peace Agreement

.

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at

Mali, the HCUA worried about the 2015 peace agreement

A presence in this country of armed men such as those of Wagner with imprecise objectives disrupts the establishment of the mechanisms for applying this Agreement.

Algiers, which maintains solid relations with Russia, did not fail to point out to Moscow the complications that Wagner's presence in Mali, but also in Libya, can cause.

Libya where there is still no solution to a conflict that has lasted for eleven years. 

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• Algeria

• Russia

• mali

• sahel