A Bloomberg report quoting western government sources says Russian mercenaries of the Wagner force have been deployed to Mali, and that Russia is backing the move.

Wagner is controlled by Yegveny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has deployed his private army to hot spots around the world, including Africa.

In a joint statement published on Thursday, France and allies against the deployment of Wagner in Mali expressed regrets over the choice of the Malian transitional authorities to use already scarce public funds to pay foreign mercenaries instead of supporting the Malian Armed Forces and public services to the benefit of the Malian people.

Tofik Abdoul Nasir reports.