WASHINGTON: The United States slapped sanctions Thursday on the head of Russia’s Wagner private military group in Mali, which the group is allegedly using as a conduit for arms for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The US Treasury said Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov works closely with Malian officials to build Wagner’s presence in Mali and elsewhere in Africa.
The powerful paramilitary group, controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, moved into Mali last year to help the ruling junta with security issues and to seek business opportunities in mining after French soldiers pulled out.
“The Wagner Group may be attempting to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by working through Mali and other countries where it has a foothold,” the Treasury said in a statement.
It said Wagner could be using false documentation to hide the acquisition and transit of mines, uncrewed aerial vehicles, radar and counterbattery systems for use in Ukraine.
It described Mali as a hub for Russian expansion in the region.
As Mali Wagner head, Maslov “arranges meetings between Prigozhin and government officials from several African nations,” the Treasury said.
The Wagner group has also been accused of taking part in a massacre by Malian troops of hundreds of people last year.
A United Nations report in early May did not name Wagner, but said foreign fighters took part in the execution of at least 500 people during an anti-jihadist operation in the Moura area of Mali in March 2022.
But a UN expert group in January accused Wagner of being involved.
“We are disturbed by the apparent increased outsourcing of traditional military functions to the so-called Wagner Group in various military operations,” the experts said.
In a parallel action, Thursday the State Department blacklisted two Mali military officials, Col. Moustaph Sangare and Major Lassine Togola, saying they were responsible for the Moura killings.
US sanctions head of Wagner mercenaries in Mali
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US sanctions head of Wagner mercenaries in Mali
- The US Treasury said Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov works closely with Malian officials to build Wagner's presence in Mali and elsewhere in Africa
- "The Wagner Group may be attempting to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine," the Treasury said
Spain to ban social media for children under 16, prime minister tells WGS
- Pedro Sanchez: Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone
- Sanchez: A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West
DUBAI: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that his country will seek to ban children aged under 16 from using social media platforms.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez outlined a six-point plan he said would help restore the “promised land” it once was.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,” he said.
“A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West.”
The announcement follows a similar ban by Australia last year. French lawmakers also passed a bill last week that would ban those aged under 15 from accessing social platforms. The UK has also announced it is considering new controls.
To enforce the ban, the Spanish government will reportedly seek to order platforms to put in place stringent age verification methods. It also plans to introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
Sanchez added that Spain had joined five other European countries that he labelled the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation.
