The military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have written to the United Nations Security Council to denounce what they said was Ukraine’s support for rebel groups in West Africa’s Sahel region, according to Mali’s foreign ministry.
In a joint letter, the three countries denounced the “open and assumed support of the Republic of Ukraine for terrorism internationally, particularly in the Sahel”.
The countries asked the UN to “take responsibility” for Ukraine’s actions and to prevent “subversive acts” that threaten regional and continental stability.
The letter was dated 19 August and circulated to the 15-member Security Council the following day, diplomats told Reuters news agency.
The text was also posted on the Malian foreign ministry’s social media account.
The complaint marks a new stage in the deterioration of relations between these countries and Ukraine, according to experts.
Accusations
The row arose over comments by a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency about fighting in northern Mali that killed dozens of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group in late July.
Both ethnic Tuareg separatists and jihadist insurgents operate in the region.
Speaking to Ukrainian media, spokesperson Andriy Yusov said rebels had received “all the necessary information they needed” to conduct “a successful military operation against Russian perpetrators of war crimes”.
Mali interpreted the remarks as an admission of Ukraine’s direct involvement in the conflict, accusing the country of supporting terrorist groups.
Mali’s military government consequently cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine in early August, followed days later by Niger.
Along with Burkina Faso, the neighbours are allied by a mutual defence pact signed last year.
Russian presence
Ukraine said it regretted the “short-sighted and hasty” decision by Mali and Niger to sever ties.
The Ukrainian government has since repeatedly called the allegations groundless, while an alliance of Tuareg rebels denied receiving its support.
But a Western security source confirmed to French news agency AFP this week that contacts exist between Ukrainian military authorities and Malian separatists, without specifying the nature of Kyiv’s possible support.
The source also ruled out a Ukrainian presence on the ground.
Ukraine has been locked in heavy fighting with Russia for more than two years, while Moscow has become a strong ally of the three juntas in power in the Sahel.
Russia has stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Africa in recent years in a bid to compete with the West in countries traditionally viewed as its allies.
Public pressure
The UN Security Council does not have a mandate to manage disputes between states.
For their complaints to be successful, the three West African countries would have to go instead to international courts, Johann Soufi, a lawyer specialising in international relations, told RFI.
The letter to the UN aims primarily to put more pressure on Ukraine, he believes, as well as speaking to the population at home.
“I don’t think it’s going to achieve anything,” he said.
Credid/AFP
