U.S. sanctions Mali officials with alleged ties to Wagner

The United States has sanctioned Mali’s Defence Minister and two officials it accused of facilitating the Russian mercenary group Wagner

The United States has sanctioned Mali's Defence Minister and two officials it accused of facilitating the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which it said acts "as a proxy military force of the Kremlin."

Wagner has been seen for years as an armed extension of Moscow's influence in several African countries.

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Defence Minister Sadio Camara, Air Force chief of staff Alou Boi Diarra, and Air Force deputy chief of staff Adama Bagayoko for "facilitating the deployment and expansion" of Wagner's activities in Mali, it said in a statement Monday.

"These officials have made their people vulnerable to the Wagner Group's destabilizing activities and human rights abuses while paving the way for the exploitation of their country's sovereign resources to the benefit of the Wagner Group's operations in Ukraine," said Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Also on Monday, Human Rights Watch accused the Malian armed forces and "foreign" fighters believed to be from the Wagner group of "executing" dozens of civilians during anti-jihadist operations.

HRW said the abuses had been committed since late 2022 "during military operations in response to the presence of Islamist armed groups" in several towns.

In May, the UN accused the Malian army and foreign fighters — identified by the United States as Wagner - of murdering 500 people during an anti-jihadist operation, which the military junta denied.