US sanctions Malian minister and air force officials for Wagner links

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against the defence minister of Mali and two senior officials in its air force, saying the three were ‘instrumental’ in helping the Russian Wagner Group set up operations in the west African nation.

‘The United States took this step based on evidence showing that these Malian officials have contributed to the Wagner Group’s malicious activities in Mali,’ the Treasury Department said 24 July.

It alleged that Defense Minister Colonel Sadio Camara ‘planned and organized the deployment of the Wagner Group in Mali.  In 2021, Camara made several trips to Russia to solidify the agreement between the Wagner Group and the Malian transition government to deploy the Wagner Group to Mali.’

Treasury said that Colonel Alou Boi Diarra, Mali’s Chief of Staff of the Air Force, was being sanctioned because, together with Sadio, he had ‘formulated and executed the plan that ultimately ushered the Wagner Group into Mali’ two years ago.

It said that Diarra is ‘a promoter of the Wagner Group within the Malian Armed Forces,’ and has collaborated with Ivan Maslov, the alleged head of the Wagner Group in Mali who has been sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom.

‘Today’s action exposes the principal Malian officials who have been instrumental in facilitating the Wagner Group’s entrenchment in Mali over the past two years,’ said Treasury Under Secretary Brian E. Nelson.