The EU will halt military training missions in Mali but will keep a presence in the Sahel, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday, citing concerns over "interference" and civilian killings committed by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was headed to the country for talks this week with the ruling junta. "We are halting the training missions for the [Malian] armed forces and national guard," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a media conference, but added: "The Sahel remains a priority. We're not giving up on the Sahel, far from it. We want to commit even more to that region."
Borrell said it was decided that developments in Mali "have forced us to see there were not sufficient guarantees...on non-interference by the Wagner group," a Russian private military organization that France and other countries say is operating in Mali as an armed force. Russia says it has only supplied what it officially describes as military instructors to Mali. France last week expressed concern over reports that Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries killed more than 200 civilians in an operation last month in the Malian village of Moura. Human Rights Watch has said Malian soldiers and foreign fighters executed 300 civilians between March 27 and 31 in Moura. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will hold talks with the junta in Mali this week amid uncertainty over the future of German troops there, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. She will then continue to Niger for talks with President Mohamed Bazoum and Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yacoubou, returning to Germany on Saturday. Baerbock's aim is to "get a precise picture of the political and security situation on the ground" as Germany weighs its ongoing participation in military missions in Mali, the spokesman said.
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