In Mali, when a Russian-made Il-76 military aircraft crashed, militants from the Wagner PMC and Malian soldiers were killed. “The death toll is high.”
The disaster occurred yesterday morning, Saturday 23 September. The plane that was overloaded crashed on landing at Gao airport, writes Deutsche Welle. During landing, it skidded off the runway, the UN mission in Mali said.
The crashed Il-76 was used by the Malian army and mercenaries of the Wagner PMC. The causes of the plane crash are being investigated. Diplomatic sources said Malian soldiers and Wagner troops were on board the plane, and the death toll and property damage were high.
Gao airport is used by both Malian soldiers and mercenaries of the Wagner PMC, as well as military personnel of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Official sources do not report the plane crash.
An insurgency by Islamic extremists has been ongoing in Mali for more than 10 years. It began in 2012 in northern Mali and then spread to Niger and Burkina Faso. MINUSMA troops have been promoting pacification in Mali and the protection of civilians since 2013.
In 2021, as a result of a coup, a military junta came to power in Mali. She demanded the immediate withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from the country. The junta actively cooperates with Russia and the militants of the Wagner PMC. France and Germany complain that the Wagnerites are interfering with the work of the UN mission.
The German government decided last year to withdraw German soldiers from Mali; it should be completed by the end of 2023. Several hundred Bundeswehr soldiers are currently stationed there.
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