"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 arty postcard from the Sahel. But upon greater inspection, there's much more to this picture: to the right there is a Malian army ration and perhaps even more strikingly, the background features a parked 4x4 pick-up truck with a machine gun mounted on the back."
"A closer look reveals that the pick-up is similar to the ones used by Mali's national army. The weapon mounted on the bed of the truck is a W85 heavy machine gun manufactured by the Chinese arms company NORINCO. This is a significant detail here, because both China and Mali are part of the 2013 United Nations brokered Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which commits weapons exporters and importers to far-reaching due diligence obligations."
A Telegram photo from December 2024 shows a figure lounging on a red carpet in the desert, a Malian army ration nearby, and a parked 4x4 pickup with a mounted machine gun. The image was posted on a channel linked to Wagner. Analysis identifies the pickup as similar to those used by Mali's national army and the weapon as a NORINCO W85 heavy machine gun. China and Mali party to the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty require due diligence to prevent arms diversion and human rights abuses. Proven transfer of Malian equipment to Russian mercenaries would violate the ATT and could prompt sanctions.
Read at www.dw.com
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