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Prime Minister Mega said that the French army had established an enclave in northern Mali and handed it over to the “terrorist organization” Ansar al-Din.
The Prime Minister of Mali, Georgel Kokara Mega, told the Russian media that he has evidence that France has been training “terrorist” organizations operating in this West African country.
Mega said that the French army had established an enclave in Kidal, a town in the desert area of northern Mali, and handed it over to a “terrorist organization” called Ansar al-Din, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. He said that the Malian army was barred from entering the territory.
“Mali cannot enter Kidal. This is an enclave controlled by France,” the “Russia Today” report quoted Megar’s interview with the state-owned RIA Novosti on Friday.
“They have armed groups trained by French officers. We have evidence…We don’t understand this situation and don’t want to tolerate it.”
Mega added that these groups “come from Libya.”
The statement was issued a few days after Mali Be called The French ambassador to the country expressed “outrage” at French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent criticism of the country’s government, which is dominated by military figures.
In June, France decided to scale back its Sahel deployment considerably following a military takeover in Mali in August 2020, which forced out the elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Colonel Asimi Goita, who led the August coup, established a provisional government led by civilians. But he subsequently launched a second coup in May of this year and dismissed the leader of the government.
Mali accused France of abandoning the West African country because of its decision to reduce military deployments in the semi-arid Sahel.
Since reports last month that the Sahel state is about to recruit, tensions between France and its former colony of Mali have increased. 1,000 paramilitary personnel From Wagner, a Russian private security company, to help it fight groups related to Al-Qaida and Islamic State (ISIS).
The French government stated that although it plans to withdraw its troops, it is still committed to combating armed uprisings in the Sahel.
After armed insurgents seized control of the north the year before, France intervened in Mali in 2013. Since then, Paris has deployed thousands of soldiers in the Sahel to combat armed uprisings.
Despite the military presence, violence has spread to central Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger.
In Mali, thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. There is almost no state in large areas of the country.
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