Mali has the right to seek military support from whoever it wants, the prime minister said, after France and other foreign powers expressed alarm at a report that Bamako was approaching Russian mercenaries for assistance.
Paris is worried the arrival of any Russian contractors would undermine its counter-terrorism operation in West Africa's Sahel region as it scales down a 5,000-strong mission and reshapes it with more European allies, diplomatic sources say.
"If partners have decided to leave certain areas, if they decide to leave tomorrow - what do we do?," Maiga said in a briefing posted online on Friday by Mali's Le Jalon news site. "Should we not have a plan B?" "There are zones that are abandoned that need to be occupied today so they're not left empty. There are not enough troops," he said, without mentioning specifics about what plans Mali might have or which other parties might be involved.Germany and West Africa's main political bloc The Economic Community of West African States have also expressed concern about Mali making a deal with a private security group.
Its plan to restructure operations in the Sahel includes reducing the number of troops to between 2,500 to 3,000, moving more assets to Niger, completing redeployment by January and deploying more European special forces. Reporting by Bate Felix; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Edmund BlairSubscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
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