Mali's government has denied any deployment of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group following charges by a group of 15 Western powers involved in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel country.
The government "gives a formal denial to these baseless allegations" of "an alleged deployment of elements from a private security company in Mali," it said in a statement released late Friday.
A group of 15 Western powers on Thursday expressed anger that Russian mercenaries working for the controversial Wagner group had started to deploy in Mali, accusing Moscow of providing material backing for the fighters. It was one of the first official acknowledgements by Western capitals that the deployment of fighters has begun in Mali after months of warnings to the Bamako government.There has been growing concern over the situation in Mali under transitional leader Colonel Assimi Goita -- who took office in June after the country's second coup in less than a year -- and in particular over fears a commitment to hold elections in February is slipping.
Despite the deployment of Russian mercenaries, the statement from the 15 powers indicated they planned to remain engaged in Mali, saying "we will not give up our efforts to address the needs of the Malian population".
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