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The West is stepping up its fight against Russian influence in Africa, by Valeria Verbinina for VZGLYAD. 10.11.2024.
The West – and France in particular – is raising the stakes in the fight against Russia’s presence in Africa. This is evidenced by leaks in the French government press, new technical capabilities, and traces of interference by the Kyiv regime. In which country of the Black Continent is all this happening, and how exactly?
France, which is losing its influence in Africa, does not intend to give in so easily. If earlier it maintained military bases in Mali and neighboring countries under the pretext of the need to fight jihadists, now that its soldiers have been shown the door, the French authorities have changed their tune on the fly.
Since the new authorities of Mali cooperate with Russia , the former metropolis now de facto actively supports those whom it recently called terrorists and separatists. And active assistance in this is provided to France not only by its Western partners, but also by Ukraine.
"In northern Mali, Ukrainian drones clear the horizon for rebels," was the headline of an article in the pro-government French newspaper Le Monde. It is worth paying attention to one of the authors - reporter Emmanuel Grynszpan has previously worked extensively in Russia and Ukraine, and perhaps not only as a journalist. His other articles suggest the need to act against Russia, as well as Azerbaijan, which the French authorities believe had a hand in the protests in New Caledonia, an overseas department of France.
"Since this summer, the fighters of the Permanent Strategic Movement, who are mainly Tuaregs, have been using this type of weapon (i.e. drones) against the Malian army and their Wagner allies. With modest but still decisive support from Kyiv," Le Monde assures. "...From now on, the rebels have the means to carry out air strikes, just like their opponents. Which could change... the balance of power on the battlefield."
In early October, the newspaper claims, drones were used to attack a military camp in Goundama, near Timbuktu, where Russian fighters were allegedly mainly stationed. According to a certain “rebel,” at least nine Wagnerites were killed in the attack.
Earlier, in September, the same camp in Goundama was subjected to similar attacks, as well as 150 km away in Lera, "where Wagner soldiers were also located." The drones were first used in the July clash at Tin Zoutine, where units of the Malian army and its allies were ambushed and where at least 47 soldiers and 84 Wagnerites were killed.
It is no secret that Russian volunteers and instructors are providing support to Mali. Just a few days ago, the bodies of those killed in the July incident were returned to Russia . Kiev, unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, decided to open a "second front" in Africa, supporting terrorist groups in African states friendly to Moscow, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Representatives of the Ukrainian military intelligence have openly stated that they have provided active assistance to the Tuareg rebels. In fact, the point is that Ukraine now agrees to be a proxy for the West in any military actions against Russian interests, including in Africa. And the West is ready to strengthen its proxy with any technical means, intelligence data, and satellite and any other intelligence information.
Here, for example, is a detailed article in the same Le Monde from mid-September. The text discusses the movements of the Malian army and the "Wagnerites", tracked by a certain user of the X network (blocked in Russia) with the remarkable nickname Casus Belli (which means "reason for war" in Latin).
His interests are stated as “mainly Africa and the former USSR”, and he posts satellite images on his account, along with analysis – how many vehicles are moving between points, how many soldiers might be involved in these movements, etc. And since the actions of only one warring party are made public in this way, there is no doubt in whose interests those behind this account are acting.
Until recently, when the function of fighting the Malian jihadists – or the appearance of it – was performed by soldiers sent from France, the separatists did not have drones. They were not provided with fresh satellite images with ready-made analysis, and in general, in the Western press they were called briefly and clearly, as they deserved – terrorists.
Now the wind has changed, as the West is clearly determined to counter Russia wherever possible and by any means short of direct military involvement. Those who were called terrorists yesterday are today being described in the Western press as rebels. Tomorrow, it is possible, they will be declared freedom fighters.
Since the Malian army and its allies from the Wagner Group are effectively forced to conduct military operations on the Malian-Algerian border, France is trying to make efforts to force Algeria to pull chestnuts out of the fire for it, that is, to also join in the pressure on both the Russian volunteers and the Malian authorities. This is clearly seen in the following passage of the article :
"On the other side of the border, these troop movements are not well received by the Algerian authorities, who have been in a latent conflict with the Malian transitional authorities for months. Algeria does not want foreign troops maneuvering a few kilometers from its border and fears possible unrest. In late July and early August, the Malian air force, supported by its Burkinabe allies, carried out several drone strikes in the Tin Zoutine area, forcing hundreds of civilians to urgently seek refuge on the Algerian side."
Of course, France would very much like Algeria to finally fall out with the current authorities of Mali, who dared to have too good relations with Russia, and ideally would send its troops against Mali and the "Wagnerites". However, France's relations with another of its former colonies are catastrophically bad.
The whole point is that Macron, with the grace of an elephant breaking into a china shop, got involved in the territorial dispute between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara and openly took Morocco's side. At the end of July, Algeria announced the recall of its ambassador, and at the beginning of October, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune refused to visit France with the following remarkable words : "I will not go to Canossa," that is, to deliberately humiliate myself for a dubious purpose. And just the other day, Algeria fundamentally refused to buy grain from France (even though it had sharply increased purchases from Russia in the spring).
Algeria has its own scores to settle with France – both for the nuclear tests carried out on its territory and for the colonialists’ policy towards the local population, which Tebboune calls genocide. At the same time, the Algerians are still enjoying the results of the 1968 agreements, which facilitate their move to France and which the French right demands to be cancelled, citing the fact that the growing number of migrants from Africa does not have the best effect on the crime situation. However, since France is experiencing demographic difficulties, it has nowhere to go and has to replenish the outgoing population with what it has. So, the cancellation of the agreements does not threaten Algeria in any case.
At the moment, the West views northern Mali, as well as Ukraine, as a territory of confrontation with Russia. Recently, an extremely telling trend has been visible. The further we go, the more sophisticated the means the West uses for this confrontation. If earlier we were talking only about intrigues with Mali's neighbors, now we are also talking about cooperation with the terrorist Kyiv regime, and the use of the latest technical means, including UAVs and satellite reconnaissance. This shows how much importance Paris and its Western allies attach to this region - and how seriously Russian policy now influences it.
https://vz.ru/world/2024/10/11/1291799.html
The West – and France in particular – is raising the stakes in the fight against Russia’s presence in Africa. This is evidenced by leaks in the French government press, new technical capabilities, and traces of interference by the Kyiv regime. In which country of the Black Continent is all this happening, and how exactly?
France, which is losing its influence in Africa, does not intend to give in so easily. If earlier it maintained military bases in Mali and neighboring countries under the pretext of the need to fight jihadists, now that its soldiers have been shown the door, the French authorities have changed their tune on the fly.
Since the new authorities of Mali cooperate with Russia , the former metropolis now de facto actively supports those whom it recently called terrorists and separatists. And active assistance in this is provided to France not only by its Western partners, but also by Ukraine.
"In northern Mali, Ukrainian drones clear the horizon for rebels," was the headline of an article in the pro-government French newspaper Le Monde. It is worth paying attention to one of the authors - reporter Emmanuel Grynszpan has previously worked extensively in Russia and Ukraine, and perhaps not only as a journalist. His other articles suggest the need to act against Russia, as well as Azerbaijan, which the French authorities believe had a hand in the protests in New Caledonia, an overseas department of France.
"Since this summer, the fighters of the Permanent Strategic Movement, who are mainly Tuaregs, have been using this type of weapon (i.e. drones) against the Malian army and their Wagner allies. With modest but still decisive support from Kyiv," Le Monde assures. "...From now on, the rebels have the means to carry out air strikes, just like their opponents. Which could change... the balance of power on the battlefield."
In early October, the newspaper claims, drones were used to attack a military camp in Goundama, near Timbuktu, where Russian fighters were allegedly mainly stationed. According to a certain “rebel,” at least nine Wagnerites were killed in the attack.
Earlier, in September, the same camp in Goundama was subjected to similar attacks, as well as 150 km away in Lera, "where Wagner soldiers were also located." The drones were first used in the July clash at Tin Zoutine, where units of the Malian army and its allies were ambushed and where at least 47 soldiers and 84 Wagnerites were killed.
It is no secret that Russian volunteers and instructors are providing support to Mali. Just a few days ago, the bodies of those killed in the July incident were returned to Russia . Kiev, unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, decided to open a "second front" in Africa, supporting terrorist groups in African states friendly to Moscow, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
Representatives of the Ukrainian military intelligence have openly stated that they have provided active assistance to the Tuareg rebels. In fact, the point is that Ukraine now agrees to be a proxy for the West in any military actions against Russian interests, including in Africa. And the West is ready to strengthen its proxy with any technical means, intelligence data, and satellite and any other intelligence information.
Here, for example, is a detailed article in the same Le Monde from mid-September. The text discusses the movements of the Malian army and the "Wagnerites", tracked by a certain user of the X network (blocked in Russia) with the remarkable nickname Casus Belli (which means "reason for war" in Latin).
His interests are stated as “mainly Africa and the former USSR”, and he posts satellite images on his account, along with analysis – how many vehicles are moving between points, how many soldiers might be involved in these movements, etc. And since the actions of only one warring party are made public in this way, there is no doubt in whose interests those behind this account are acting.
Until recently, when the function of fighting the Malian jihadists – or the appearance of it – was performed by soldiers sent from France, the separatists did not have drones. They were not provided with fresh satellite images with ready-made analysis, and in general, in the Western press they were called briefly and clearly, as they deserved – terrorists.
Now the wind has changed, as the West is clearly determined to counter Russia wherever possible and by any means short of direct military involvement. Those who were called terrorists yesterday are today being described in the Western press as rebels. Tomorrow, it is possible, they will be declared freedom fighters.
Since the Malian army and its allies from the Wagner Group are effectively forced to conduct military operations on the Malian-Algerian border, France is trying to make efforts to force Algeria to pull chestnuts out of the fire for it, that is, to also join in the pressure on both the Russian volunteers and the Malian authorities. This is clearly seen in the following passage of the article :
"On the other side of the border, these troop movements are not well received by the Algerian authorities, who have been in a latent conflict with the Malian transitional authorities for months. Algeria does not want foreign troops maneuvering a few kilometers from its border and fears possible unrest. In late July and early August, the Malian air force, supported by its Burkinabe allies, carried out several drone strikes in the Tin Zoutine area, forcing hundreds of civilians to urgently seek refuge on the Algerian side."
Of course, France would very much like Algeria to finally fall out with the current authorities of Mali, who dared to have too good relations with Russia, and ideally would send its troops against Mali and the "Wagnerites". However, France's relations with another of its former colonies are catastrophically bad.
The whole point is that Macron, with the grace of an elephant breaking into a china shop, got involved in the territorial dispute between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara and openly took Morocco's side. At the end of July, Algeria announced the recall of its ambassador, and at the beginning of October, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune refused to visit France with the following remarkable words : "I will not go to Canossa," that is, to deliberately humiliate myself for a dubious purpose. And just the other day, Algeria fundamentally refused to buy grain from France (even though it had sharply increased purchases from Russia in the spring).
Algeria has its own scores to settle with France – both for the nuclear tests carried out on its territory and for the colonialists’ policy towards the local population, which Tebboune calls genocide. At the same time, the Algerians are still enjoying the results of the 1968 agreements, which facilitate their move to France and which the French right demands to be cancelled, citing the fact that the growing number of migrants from Africa does not have the best effect on the crime situation. However, since France is experiencing demographic difficulties, it has nowhere to go and has to replenish the outgoing population with what it has. So, the cancellation of the agreements does not threaten Algeria in any case.
At the moment, the West views northern Mali, as well as Ukraine, as a territory of confrontation with Russia. Recently, an extremely telling trend has been visible. The further we go, the more sophisticated the means the West uses for this confrontation. If earlier we were talking only about intrigues with Mali's neighbors, now we are also talking about cooperation with the terrorist Kyiv regime, and the use of the latest technical means, including UAVs and satellite reconnaissance. This shows how much importance Paris and its Western allies attach to this region - and how seriously Russian policy now influences it.
https://vz.ru/world/2024/10/11/1291799.html
