Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger insist that remarks by officials in Kiev after the killing of Malian soldiers indicate support for jihadists in Africa
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have written to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding action against Ukraine for its alleged involvement in a rebel attack that killed dozens of Malian soldiers and Russian military contractors.
In a joint letter to the president of the UNSC published on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the three Alliance of Sahel States (AES) members cited remarks by Ukrainian officials following the assault in late July as proof of Kiev’s support for terrorism in Africa.
“We call on the Security Council… to take appropriate measures against these subversive actions which strengthen terrorist groups in Africa and constitute a manifestation of the involvement of foreign state sponsors in the expansion of terrorism in the region,” the ministers wrote.
Ukraine has been at the center of a diplomatic storm in West Africa since the beginning of this month, after Tuareg insurgents ambushed a military convoy carrying members of the Wagner Group private military company and Bamako’s defense forces in the village of Tinzaouaten in northern Mali. Ukrainian officials claimed the militants carried out a “successful” operation using information from Kiev’s military intelligence service (HUR), warning that “there will be more to come.”
The remarks sparked outrage in Bamako and several of its West African neighbors, who have accused Ukraine of supporting aggression in Mali, which has been embroiled in jihadist insurgencies for more than a decade. The regional bloc, ECOWAS, also denounced the comments and warned against “foreign interference” that threatens the region’s peace and security. The Malian military government and its ally in Niger responded by breaking off diplomatic relations with Ukraine. Kiev denies the accusations, claiming that the African states made “hasty” decisions without evidence of Ukrainian involvement in the attack.
In the latest move against Kiev, the military authorities of Bamako, Niamey, and Ouagadougou labeled the comments by Ukrainian officials as “extremely serious” and beyond the “scope of foreign interference.”
“These acts also constitute a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our States… in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant international conventions,” the letter read.
For years, the three landlocked African nations have been gripped by militant violence, which a decade-long French military mission has failed to resolve. All three countries, under military rule, have severed defense ties with their former colonial power, France, and recently formed the AES to support each other against external aggression and combat the unrest. The alliance has sought increased security cooperation with Russia to deal with the situation.
