"The image in question shows a pair of legs lounging in the shade on a red carpet in the middle of the desert with a pack of cigarettes in the foreground almost like an artsy postcard from the Sahel. But upon greater inspection, there's much more to this picture: to the right is a Malian army ration and perhaps even more strikingly, the background features a parked 4x4 pickup truck with a machine gun mounted on the back."
"This photograph was posted on a channel linked to Wagner, the officially disbanded Russian private military company, and the legs seen in the foreground seem to belong to a mercenary fighter. Devil hides in the detail A closer look reveals that the truck is similar to the ones used by Mali's national army. The weapon mounted on the back of the truck is a W85 heavy machine gun manufactured by the Chinese arms company NORINCO."
A December 2024 Telegram photo depicts legs on a red carpet in desert shade, accompanied by cigarettes, a Malian army ration, and a parked 4x4 pickup mounting a machine gun. The truck appears similar to Mali's national army vehicles and the weapon is identified as a NORINCO W85 heavy machine gun. China and Mali are signatories to the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty, which requires due diligence to prevent arms transfers that enable human rights abuses or regional destabilization. If Malian military equipment was provided to Russian mercenaries, such diversion would breach the ATT and could trigger diplomatic consequences and sanctions.
Read at www.dw.com
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