Video footage seems to indicate Caucasian troopers burying our bodies close to former French base in Mali.
![The French military said the move to discredit the French forces operating in northern Mali is part of a coordinated campaign of multiple information attacks on them that has been going on for months [File: Florent Vergnes/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Mali.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
The French navy says it has video footage of Russian mercenaries burying our bodies close to a military base in northern Mali that French forces departed earlier this week.
The French declare the video is proof that Russian mercenaries are getting ready a smear marketing campaign now that the bottom has been handed over to Malian forces.
Aerial surveillance footage taken by the French navy on Thursday morning and offered to The Related Press exhibits what seem like 10 Caucasian troopers overlaying roughly a dozen Malian our bodies with sand at a location 4km (2.5 miles) east of the Gossi navy base within the north of Mali.
Within the video, one of many troopers seems to be filming the burial web site.
The Caucasian troopers within the video are believed to be members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary pressure, in keeping with a French navy officer who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not authorised to talk on the matter.
A number of tweets with photos of the our bodies have already been posted on accounts that assist Russia, or pretend accounts created by the Wagner Group, the officer mentioned.
The tweets blame the French for the killings and the burials, in keeping with the French officer.
One tweet from an account named Dia Diarra, and allegedly created by the Wagner Group, states: “That is what the French left behind after they left base at #Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We can't preserve silent about this!”
‘Info assaults’
The French military transferred management of the Gossi base to Malian troopers on Tuesday, in what the French mentioned was a secure, orderly and clear method.
Later that day a “French sensor noticed a dozen Caucasian people, more than likely belonging to the Wagner Group”, and a detachment from the Malian military arrive on the Gossi web site and unload gear, the French navy mentioned in a confidential report.
The video was an effort to discredit France’s operations in northern Mali and is a part of a coordinated marketing campaign of a number of data assaults that has been ongoing for months, the French navy mentioned.
France’s military mentioned evaluating the images revealed on Twitter towards photos taken by a particular sensor permits them to “draw a direct line” between Wagner’s actions and what has been falsely attributed to French troopers.
“This incident at Gossi camp will additional put Mali’s junta at odds with the worldwide neighborhood, and it wouldn’t be shocking in the event that they provide you with an unrealistic rationalization,” mentioned Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow on the Coverage Heart for the New South, a Moroccan-based organisation targeted on economics and coverage.
Lyammouri mentioned the obvious staging of our bodies buried close to the camp may be seen as the most recent instance of Russia’s disinformation marketing campaign to wreck France’s popularity and it additionally displays badly on Mali’s military, which should have been conscious of the Russians’ actions.
He mentioned the aerial photos offered by the French navy have largely stymied the Russian disinformation effort.
“It is a large win for France who’s been going through robust instances about its popularity in Mali,” he mentioned.
In February, France introduced it will withdraw its troops from Mali amid tensions with the nation’s ruling navy and the West African nation’s choice to make use of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group.
Some 1,000 Russian mercenaries are believed to be working in Mali, in keeping with navy specialists.
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