According to a German military document dated Tuesday, German troops noticed several dozen likely Russian security forces at Gao airport in northern Mali on Monday, the day the last French soldiers ended up their operations and left the town.
Berlin’s participation in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali has been controversial in Germany for some time, as the West African country strengthens its Soviet-era connections with Russia.
Since late last year, fighters from the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked private military organization, have been assisting the Malian army in its war against Islamist rebels.
Last week, Germany terminated its military surveillance mission in Mali, with some 1,000 troops primarily stationed in Gao, when local authorities once again denied a flight clearance.
German and British United Nations forces witnessed two planes at Gao airport on Monday, an Embraer 314 Super Tucano and an L-39 Albatros, according to a document seen by Reuters from Germany’s combined military operations command.
The letter, which was addressed to the parliament’s defence and foreign committees and was originally reported on by Spiegel magazine, went on to say that Russia had only recently handed over L-39 ground attack aircraft to Malian forces.
“Two hours later, 20 to 30 people in military uniforms who did not belong to Mali’s army were seen unloading equipment from a Malian cargo plane,” according to the document.
“They were probably certainly Russian security personnel. The L-39 must be presumed to be operated by Russian forces because Malian security personnel are unable of doing so “According to the letter.
According to the dossier, it was unclear what role Russian forces were expected to fulfill in Gao.
So far, German activities have been unaffected, according to the letter.
“With the deployment of Russian forces and Russia providing high-value capabilities (ground attack aircraft) at Gao airport, Malian forces are continuing to expand their area of operations towards the northeast with Russia’s support,” the military said in the document.
Mali is battling an Islamist insurgency that began with a 2012 revolt and has now expanded to neighboring countries, killing hundreds and displacing millions in West Africa’s Sahel region.
France announced in February that it would withdraw its troops from Mali after nearly a decade of fighting insurgents there.
