BERLIN: Germany warned Mali on Wednesday that a deal with Russian private security group Wagner would “call into question” its deployment in the West African country as part of United Nations and European Union missions.
“If Mali’s government makes such a deal with Russia, then it goes against everything that Germany, France, the EU and the UN have been doing in Mali over the last eight years,” wrote Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Twitter.
French sources told AFP this week that the Malian government was nearing a deal with Wagner to hire nearly 1,000 mercenaries, an agreement that would underscore Moscow’s growing influence in the region.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly on Tuesday warned Mali against signing a contract with Wagner, saying it would be “incoherent with everything we have done” in the Sahel region.
A spokesperson for the Malian defense ministry has not denied the discussions, which were first reported by Reuters news agency on Monday.
“Mali intends to diversify its relationships in the medium term to ensure the security of the country,” the spokesperson told AFP.
“We haven’t signed anything with Wagner, but we are talking with everyone.”
A German foreign ministry spokeswoman called the prospect of Mali partnering with Russian mercenaries “extremely worrying” and said it was in close contact with French counterparts over the issue.
Germany has around 1,500 soldiers in Mali as part of the UN’s Minusma peacekeeping mission and the EU’s mission to train Malian soldiers. It is currently Germany’s most dangerous foreign deployment.
France first sent troops to Mali in 2013 after extremists overran the north of the country.
Since then, Paris has deployed thousands of troops to the wider Sahel region where they carry out operations alongside local forces against extremists linked to Al-Qaeda and Daesh.
In recent years, Russian paramilitaries, security instructors, companies and advisers have grown increasingly influential in Africa, particularly in the war-torn Central African Republic (CAR).
The Kremlin said Wednesday there were no formal discussions on military cooperation with Mali.
Germany warns Mali over Russian mercenary deal
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Germany warns Mali over Russian mercenary deal
- The Malian government is reported to be nearing a deal with Wagner to hire nearly 1,000 mercenaries, an agreement that would underscore Moscow’s growing influence in the region
- French Defense Minister Florence Parly warned Mali against signing a contract with Wagner, saying it would be ‘incoherent with everything we have done’ in the Sahel region
Florida braces for frost and possible snow flurries as winter storms hit other parts of the US
- The worst seems to be heading toward the Carolinas, but the Sunshine State’s humans, animals and even plants are preparing for winter weather
MIAMI: Florida won’t be getting hit with massive blankets of snow and ice like the rest of the US, but even frosty windshields and a few flurries can feel like Antarctica to people with permanent sandal tans.
The Midwest and South have been getting major winter storms for several days, and a giant cyclone forecast in the Atlantic Ocean is expected to pull that cold weather east as a powerful blizzard this weekend. The worst seems to be heading toward the Carolinas, but the Sunshine State’s humans, animals and even plants are preparing for winter weather.
Florida could experience record cold
Ana Torres-Vazquez, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Miami, said a cold front earlier this week has already caused temperatures to dip some, but the region could experience record-setting cold this weekend.
“It looks like temperatures across South Florida are dipping into the 30s (Fahrenheit) for most of the metro area and maybe into the 20s for areas near Lake Okeechobee,” Torres-Vazquez said. “And then the windchill could make those temperatures feel even cooler.”
Residents of South Florida are less likely to have heavy coats and other winter clothes, so Torres-Vazquez said it’s important to layer up lighter clothing and limit time spent outside.
Moving north, Tony Hurt, a National Weather Service forecaster for the Tampa Bay area, said there’s a 10 to 20 percent chance of snowfall in that region this weekend.
“Most likely if there’s any snow that does actually materialize, it’ll be primarily in the form of flurries, no accumulations,” Hurt said.
The last two times the area got snow was flurries in January 2010 and December 1989. The record for snowfall was in January 1977, with 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Tampa.
Despite the possibility of snow, Tampa will host the annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest on Saturday. And on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Lightning are set to host the Boston Bruins for an outdoor NHL game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ home NFL stadium.
Few tourists visiting Florida will be swimming in the ocean or laying out on sunny beaches this weekend, but many attractions will remain open. Most of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando will operate normally, though their water parks will be closed. Most of the state’s zoos and animal parks will also remain open while keepers take steps to protect the inhabitants.
Zoo keepers working to keep animals safe and warm
Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said keepers have been setting up heaters and moving reptiles and smaller mammals to indoor enclosures, while primates like chimpanzees and orangutans are given blankets to keep themselves warm. Big cats and large hoofed animals generally do well in colder temperatures and don’t require much assistance from keepers.
“It can be invigorating for animals like the tiger, so they’ll actually become more active,” Magill said.
Outside the safety of the zoo, Florida’s native wildlife has evolved and learned to survive occasional cold snaps, though casualties will still occur, Magill said. Manatees, for example, have spent decades congregating at the warm-water outflows of about a dozen power plants around Florida.
But invasive, nonnative animals like iguanas and other exotic reptiles will suffer the most, Magill said. Iguanas in South Florida famously enter a torpid state during cold periods and even fall out of trees. They usually wake up when the temperature increases, but many will die after more than a day of extreme cold.
“At the end of the day, they don’t belong here, and that might be nature’s way of trying to clean that up a little bit,” Magill said. “That is a part of natural selection.”
Protecting crops is a priority for farmers
Florida’s agriculture industry is also bracing for the cold. Farmers are working to safeguard their crops as winter harvest continues and spring planting begins in some areas, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association spokeswoman Christina Morton said.
“Preparations vary by crop and include harvesting and planting ahead of the freeze, increasing water levels in ditches, using overhead irrigation, and, in some cases, deploying helicopters to protect sensitive fields,” Morton said.
The Florida deep freeze comes as the arctic blast from Canada also spreads into southern states where thousands of people remain without power to heat their homes, and people in mid-Atlantic states prepare for possible blizzard conditions as a new storm is expected to churn along the East Coast.
Temperatures in hard-hit northern Mississippi will feel as cold as minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 21 degrees Celsius) when the expected strong winds are factored in, National Weather Service forecasters say. People in a large part of the southeastern US were under a variety of alerts warning of extremely cold weather on the way.
The storm expected to hit the Eastern Seaboard has prompted more warnings in the Carolinas and nearby states. That storm is expected to bring heavy snow and strong winds, which could create “dangerous, near-blizzard conditions,” the weather service warned.
