Mali’s military junta on Tuesday accused the French military of spying after the French military released a drone-made video that showed alleged Russian mercenaries burying bodies at a grave near a military base last week, reported France 24.
The French army claimed that it filmed the video near the Gossi military base in northern Mali and accused Russian-linked mercenaries of playing a role in a coordinated campaign to smear departing French soldiers.
The video showed Russian mercenaries covering bodies with sand to falsely accuse the departing troops of war crimes. Two soldiers could be seen filming the half-buried corpses.
In a statement, the military junta said the drone illegally flew over the military base on April 20, the day after French forces handed the site back to Mali.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mali’s military announced an inquiry into the discovery of a mass grave at the Gossi base. The army said it found the grave the day after the images were published and claimed the bodies’ advanced stage of putrefaction ruled out Malian soldiers’ responsibility.
“The said a drone was present…to spy on our brave FAMa (Malian Armed Forces),” government spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga said.
It subsequently accused France of spying and attempting to sully the reputation of Malian forces with the drone-filmed video.
“In addition to the spying, French forces were guilty of subversion by publishing false images worked up to accuse the FAMa of responsibility of killing civilians, with the aim of tarnishing their image,” Maiga added.
The junta spokesman said foreign aircraft, notably operated by French forces had deliberately violated Malian airspace more than 50 times since the start of the year.
Relations between France and Mali soured after the Malian military seized power in a coup in 2020.
In February, France said it was winding down operations in Mali with European partners and would pull troops by the summer.
