European Superpowers Angry Over Mali and Russian Paramilitary Alliance

France&#039;s defence minister warned Mali against hiring paramilitaries from Russian private-security firm Wagner.<br />Florence Parly told reporters that if Mali hired the firm, at a time when international partners fighting jihadism in the Sahel had never been so numerous, such a choice would be that of isolation. <br />A Mali defence ministry official says that no decision regarding Wagner had been made. <br />Malian defence minister Colonel Sadio Camara told Parly that France&#039;s abandonment of Mali meant everything had to be considered to secure the country.