US imposes sanctions on leader of Wagner group in Mali
Source: The Guardian
US imposes sanctions on leader of Wagner group in Mali
Private army led by Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov accused of acquiring weaponry for use in Ukraine
Staff and agencies in Washington
Thu 25 May 2023 22.01 BST
Last modified on Thu 25 May 2023 22.27 BST
The United States has imposed sanctions on the head of the Wagner group in Mali, accusing the Russian private army of using the country as a conduit for arms and military equipment for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The US Treasury said Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov works closely with Malian officials to build Wagner’s presence in Mali and elsewhere in Africa.
In Africa, the Wagner group has brokered deals in Mali, Central African Republic, Libya and elsewhere, providing security for what are often autocratic national leaders, frequently in exchange for a share of the local mining of gold and other resources.
The powerful paramilitary group, controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, moved into Mali last year to help the ruling junta with security issues and to seek business opportunities in mining after French soldiers pulled out.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/25/us-sanctions-wagners-mali-chief-claiming-country-is-used-to-supply-arms-to-ukraine
No-registration link: https://archive.is/jNlkb
= new reply since forum marked as read
