On Friday evening, the Malian army announced that it had discovered a mass grave near a base that the French army rebuilt four days ago in Gossy in the north of the country.
This came just hours after the French army accused Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group of manipulating information. The French army has confirmed that it filmed what it claims Russian mercenaries were burying bodies near the Gosse base in order to blame the French for leaving a mass grave behind.
A statement from the General Staff of the Malian armies states that “the bodies were found in a state of severe decomposition in a mass grave near the camp formerly occupied by the French forces of Barkhan”.
The statement stated that “heavy decomposition of the bodies indicates that this mass grave existed long before the handover” of the base. “Therefore, responsibility for this act cannot in any way be attributed” to the Malian armed forces, he added.
He indicated that an investigation would be launched to find out all the details related to the mass grave.
The French General Staff warned on Tuesday that it expects “media attacks” aimed at discrediting the French army in connection with the handover of the Gossy base.
A drone filmed by the French army and viewed by Agence France-Presse on Thursday evening shows soldiers busy around the bodies, which they cover with sand. The French General Staff described it as a “media attack”.
As part of its withdrawal from Mali, which was announced in February, the French army formally handed over the Gossy base, which housed 300 French soldiers, to the Malian armed forces on Tuesday.
And Paris decided to withdraw from Mali in February amid deteriorating security amid tensions between France and the ruling military council, which Westerners accuse of using the services of the Wagner group.
Bamako, for his part, confirms the presence of ordinary Russian coaches.