[ad_1]
Senegal summons Ukrainian ambassador to protest praise of Russian military contractor attack in Mali
Senegal’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the Ukrainian Embassy for supporting a terrorist attack on Malian government forces and Russian military contractors last month. The ministry accused Kiev of trying to “destabilize” the brotherly country of Mali.
In late July, Tuareg rebels attacked a convoy of Malian soldiers and members of the Wagner private military company near the Malian-Algerian border, killing dozens of people. Earlier this week, Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, claimed that his agents helped the jihadists plan the attack.
“The rebels received the necessary information, and not just information, which allowed the military operation against Russian war criminals to succeed,” Yusov told Ukrainian television. Yusov did not say whether Ukrainian personnel were involved in the attacks, but he vowed “there will be more attacks.”
The Ukrainian embassy in Dakar posted the interview on its Facebook page, along with comments from Ambassador Yuri Pivovarov, who said: “There will definitely be other outcomes. Punishment for war crimes and terrorism is inevitable.” The video has now been deleted.
Senegal’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it was “unacceptable … statements and gestures of apology for terrorism, especially when the aim of terrorism is to destabilize a brotherly country like Mali.”
Senegal, while maintaining a position of “constructive neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” also “cannot tolerate any attempt to transfer media propaganda from this conflict to its territory,” the ministry continued.
According to the statement, Pivovarov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the situation and was reminded that “the seriousness and solemnity of his mission requires the fulfillment of the obligations of prudence, restraint and non-interference.”
Mali has been mired in a jihadist insurgency since 2012, with attacks by al-Qaeda and Islamic State factions killing thousands and forcing 375,000 people to flee their homes, according to UN estimates. A decade-long French military campaign has failed to quell the violence, which has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Both countries, along with Mali, are now led by military juntas after their pro-Western leaders were overthrown in a series of coups since 2020.
Earlier this year, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – where Wagner fighters are believed to be operating – formed an alliance to help each other fight jihadist threats, while the three countries also seek to increase security cooperation with Russia.
Senegal is not a member of the alliance and its government is considered friendly to the United States and France. Nevertheless, Senegal maintains friendly relations with Mali, which it borders to the east.
（RT.com）
[ad_2]
Source link
