Washington sanctions Wagner's head in Mali and two Malian soldiers

The Biden administration continues to denounce the collusion between the Malian army and the mercenary group.

Three Russian mercenaries (right) in northern Mali, April 2022. AP

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With our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin

These are Malian military officials who are sanctioned by the State Department. U.S. diplomacy imposes visa restrictions on Colonel Moustapha Sangaré and Major Lassine Togola. It accuses them of their involvement in human rights violations at the time of the Moura massacre that killed more than 500 people in March 2022, according to the UN human rights office. At the time, Colonel Sangaré was in charge of the 33rd Parachute Commando Regiment. Lassine Togola is the current leader of the autonomous battalion of Mali's special forces. According to the statement, they had a leading role in the operation.

An operation conducted in collaboration with the Russian group Wagner, considered in the United States as a transnational criminal organization, in the same way as a mafia. The local representative of the mercenary group, the Russian Ivan Alexander Maslov, is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. His assets located in the United States or under the control of the United States are frozen and confiscated.

The presence of the Wagner Group on the African continent is considered destabilizing in Washington. According to the statement, the group may try to conceal its efforts to acquire military equipment for Ukraine, including through Mali.

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• Mali
• United States