Africa-Press – Mali. IRELAND will not pull its soldiers out of Mali despite the UK’s decision this week to withdraw their troops due to the deteriorating security situation.
The UK is leaving the UN Mali mission possibly the most dangerous peacekeeping role in the world but Ireland will keep our 14 soldiers in the country on a separate mission.
Earlier this week, the UK’s Defence Minister James Heappey said he would be withdrawing all of the UK’s troops from a UN peacekeeping station in Mali.
He said that two coups in three years in the African country had undermined the mission and hit out at the current Malian government for working with the Russian-backed Wagner Group.
The Wagner Group is a Russian mercenary army that acts as a private security firm with operations in Ukraine, Africa and Syria. They have been linked to a series of mass murders and torture.
Just last weekend, they posted gruesome footage of the summary killing of a recaptured Russian defector, Yevgeny Nuzhin.
In the video, Nuzhin was shown lying down with his head taped to a wall as an unidentified man in combat gear hits him with a sledgehammer.
His family expressed “horror” over his apparent execution.
Nuzhin’s son Ilya, said: “Our whole family was in tears watching the video.
“He was killed without a court investigation. He was murdered like an animal.”
He added: “I started watching it with my wife. She shrieked with horror and I started to shake when I saw that.
“The whole family cried, even those who didn’t like him. »
The Malian government has hired the Wagner Group as security against Islamist extremists with the Russian mercenaries now linked to a series of murders there.
The UK’s Defence Minister said: “The Wagner Group is linked to mass human rights abuses and the Malian government’s partnership with the Wagner Group is counter-productive to lasting stability and security in their region.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Defence told The Irish Sun that Minister Simon Coveney is aware of the UK’s decision to remove their troops from Mali.
But they said Ireland is not considering a similar move to withdraw the 14 Irish soldiers presently deployed in Mali.
A spokesperson said: “While the political and security situation in Mali continues to give cause for concern, Ireland remains committed to the EU Training Mission and the Defence Forces’ participation in that mission.
“While all DF deployments are kept under review, there are no immediate plans to reduce the Defence Forces’ presence in the training mission in Mali.”
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