On Friday, local officials reported that Malian military planes had flown in dozens of troops that work for the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary and private security firm that has actively operated in Mali since late 2021. The Wagner Group is reportedly providing counter-terrorism training and security to local Malian forces due to the threat posed by extremist groups in the region.
Mali primarily faces threats from jihadist groups such as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, JNIM, a Salafi-jihadist organization that is connected to al-Qaida, and various Tuareg separatist groups.
Threats from these extremist groups have grown since 2021, when a military junta overthrew the Malian civilian government in a coup d'état. The military junta ordered the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, which was formed in 2013 to act as a stabilizing force in the country, to officially leave the country.
As MINUSMA now exits Mali, Malian military and Wagner forces are meant to replace them.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Malian military official said that "As part of the takeover of the UN mission's camps in Mali, our troops arrived in Tessalit on Thursday."
It is unclear whether the Malian army and the Wagner Group will be able to effectively fight off groups such as JNIM. The army recently dispatched a convoy headed to Kidal, a town in northern Mali, and the convoy has been attacked multiple times. Additionally, some experts believe that Wagner is weakening.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who controlled the paramilitary group, was killed in August after launching an armed rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner operations in Mali have been scrutinized since May, when a United Nations report stated that there was evidence that the private security firm had murdered over 500 Malians in a period of five days.
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