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Senegal summons Ukrainian ambassador to protest praise of Russian military contractor attack in Mali
Senegal’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Ukrainian Embassy for supporting terrorist attacks against Malian government forces and Russian military contractors last month. The Ministry accused Kiev of trying to ‘Destabilizing’ this ‘Brotherly’ Mali country.
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.” Yusof told Ukrainian television. Yusof did not say whether Ukrainian personnel were involved in the attack, but he vowed “There will be more to come.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Dakar posted the interview on its Facebook page, along with a comment from Ambassador Yuri Piovarov, who said “There will certainly be other outcomes. Punishment for war crimes and terrorism is inevitable.” The video has now been deleted.
Senegal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Saturday saying: “It is unacceptable … to speak and act in apology for terrorism, especially when the aim of terrorism is to destabilize a brotherly country like Mali.”
Senegal maintains “Maintaining constructive neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict” return “Any attempt to divert the ongoing media propaganda in this conflict to their territory cannot be tolerated.” The work of the Ministry continues.
According to the statement, Piovarov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain the situation and was reminded “The obligations of prudence, restraint and non-interference must accompany the seriousness and solemnity of its mission.”
read more: Russia pledges more security support to troubled Sahel nations
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 from 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.
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