Mali: US Sanctions Against Wagner and Two Senior Mali Army Officials | APAnews

According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, these individuals have been accused of human rights violations during the Mora massacre in March 2022, which killed more than 500 people.

The US State Department has imposed sanctions against two Malian military officers and Wagner, the head of a paramilitary group in the country.

At the material time, one of the two senior officers targeted, Colonel Moustab Shankare, commanded the 33rd Parachute Commando Squadron. As for his brother-in-law, Major Lassin Tokola, who is implicated in the case, he leads an autonomous battalion of Mali’s Special Forces (BAFS).

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on Ivan Alexandrovich Maslov, the head of the Wagner Group in Mali. He would be implicated in several murder cases, including the events in Moura, which killed more than 500 people according to the United Nations.

According to the US press release, “Mali’s ongoing partnership with the Wagner group worsens its security situation and prolongs human suffering”. According to them, Wagner’s alleged use of Mali as an intermediary to supply weapons to his fighters in Ukraine further highlights how closely the group pursues its larger financial and political goals.

Sanctions used against the individuals concerned include US visa embargoes and asset freezes under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs for engaging in gross human rights violations.

The Malian government rejected the allegations made in the report about the events in Moura, while announcing that it would open an investigation against the Commission of Inquiry for “espionage, attack on the external security of the state and conspiracy”. Military “.

MD/ac/APA