Page 6 - aruba-today-20220423

A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 23 april 2022
French accuse Russian mercenaries of staging burials in Mali

By SAM MEDNICK violence has prompted nu-
Associated Press merous anti-French protests
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina in the capital.
Faso (AP) — The French Earlier this month foreign
military has released videos soldiers thought to be the
appearing to show Russian Russians working with the
mercenaries burying bod- Malian army were accused
ies near an army base in of killing an estimated 300
northern Mali, which it says men — some of them sus-
is part of a smear campaign pected Islamic extremist
against the French who fighters but most civilians
handed the base to Ma- — in Moura in central Mali,
lian forces earlier this week. according to Human Rights
Aerial surveillance images Watch. It was the worst
taken by the French military single atrocity reported in
on Thursday morning and Mali's 10-year armed con-
provided to The Associated flict against Islamic extrem-
Press show what appear to ists, according to the group
be 10 Caucasian soldiers which said it interviewed
covering approximately a several witnesses about the
dozen Malian bodies with killings.
sand 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) It's unclear where the bod-
east of the Gossi military ies seen in the video Friday
base in the country's north, This image taken from a video shows soldiers burying bodies near an army base in northern Mali. came from. The French mili-
according to a French mili- Associated Press tary official said they might
tary officer who spoke on ficer. One tweet from an at the Gossi site and unload levels in Mali," said Alex have possibly been taken
condition of anonymity be- account called Dia Diarra, equipment, said the French Thurston, assistant professor from near Hombori town,
cause he was not autho- allegedly created by Wag- military in a confidential re- of political science at the approximately 90 kilome-
rized to speak to the press ner, said: "This is what the port that was seen by AP. University of Cincinnati in ters (56 miles) from Gossi,
on the matter. French left behind when Mali's army spokesman Col. the United States. where there had been
In the video one of the sol- they left base at #Gossi. Souleymane Dembele said "Anti-French sentiments, fighting a few days earlier,
diers appears to be filming These are excerpts from a that a team has been dis- however, reflect more than but he could not confirm it.
the scene. The Caucasian video that was taken after patched to Gossi to inves- just Russian disinformation. The apparently staged
soldiers in the video are be- they left! We cannot keep tigate, adding "it is still early The Malian junta and Wag- graves can be seen as the
lieved to be members of silent about this!" for us to react on this case." ner are trying to harness latest example of Russia's
the Wagner Group, a Rus- The French army transferred The French military said those frustrations, but they disinformation campaign
sian mercenary force, the control of the Gossi base to the move to discredit the did not create them," he to damage France's repu-
officer said. Malian soldiers on Tuesday, French forces operating said. French troops have tation and it also reflects
Several tweets with pictures in what the French said in northern Mali is part of been a major presence in badly on Mali's army, which
of the bodies have been was a safe, orderly and a coordinated campaign Mali since helping to dis- must have been aware of
posted on accounts that transparent manner. Later of multiple information at- lodge jihadi rebels from the Russians' actions, said
support Russia or fake ac- that day a "French sensor tacks on them that has strongholds in northern Mali Rida Lyammouri, senior fel-
counts created by Wagner, observed a dozen Cauca- been going on for months. in 2013. But the extremists' low at the Policy Center for
the officer said. The tweets sian individuals, most likely "The Wagner Group and attacks on civilians and the New South, a Moroc-
blame the French for the belonging to the Wagner the Malian Armed Forces the military have contin- can-based organization fo-
killings and the burials, ac- Group," and a detachment appear to be taking disre- ued as the rebels have cused on economics and
cording to the French of- from the Malian army arrive gard for human life to new pushed south. The ongoing policy. q

Indonesia to ban exports of cooking oil

to reduce shortages

President Joko Widodo torney General’s Office supplies are available in the
announced Friday, a day announced a corruption domestic market and that
after hundreds of people investigation involving a costs do not follow sharply
protested in the capital senior Trade Ministry official rising international prices.
against rising food costs. and three palm oil execu- Hundreds of people
The ban begins next Thurs- tives. marched in Jakarta on
day and will continue for Attorney General Sanitiar Thursday to protest soaring
an undetermined length of Burhanuddin said the min- food and oil prices. They
time, he said. istry official is suspected of demanded the govern-
“I will continue to monitor issuing export permits for ment reduce prices of fuel
and evaluate the imple- crude palm oil and its deriv- and basic foods, including
mentation of this policy ative products that resulted cooking oil.
A vendor shows packs of cooking oil at his stall at a market in so that the availability of in domestic shortages and Indonesia and Malaysia are
Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, April 17, 2022.
Associated Press cooking oil in the country sharply higher prices for the world’s largest export-
is abundant and at an af- cooking oil. ers of palm oil, which plays
By EDNA TARIGAN of cooking oil and its raw fordable price,” Widodo The government issued a an important role in their
Associated Press materials to reduce do- said in a statement. policy earlier this year obli- economies. They account
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — mestic shortages and hold The announcement came gating all palm oil exporters for 85% of global palm oil
Indonesia will ban exports down skyrocketing prices, three days after the At- to ensure that adequate production.q