Arrival of Russian Wagner mercenaries in Mali condemned by European governments

The 16 governments, including France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany, said they were aware of “the involvement of the Russian Federation government in providing material support to the deployment of the Wagner group in Mali and call on Russia to revert to a responsible and constructive behavior in the region.”
The European states said the deployment to Mali “can only further deteriorate the security situation in West Africa.
Last week, the European Union imposed sanctions against Wagner; eight individuals associated with the group; and three entities connected to it because of what it called “serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings.”
Mali has faced a long-running jihadi insurgency which has killed thousands of civilians. A UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, has been unable to quell the violence, which has cost the lives of more than 150 of its soldiers.