Mali faces an insurgency that it has struggled to contain for much of the past decade. The transitional government invited Wagner mercenaries into the country, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who claims that the Russian state is not involved.

 

The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been sanctioned and indicted by the US government.

 

At a news conference with Senegal's foreign minister, Aissata Tall Sall, Blinken said: "This is ultimately about the people of Mali and their aspirations for peace, their aspirations for development and respect for human rights."

 

What did Blinken say about China?

 

Though downplayed, competition between the US and China has been a steady theme of Blinken's West Africa trip.

 

Earlier in the week in Kenya, AFP reports that Blinken did a press conference at a hotel where the Kenya China Chamber of Commerce had reserved another conference room.

 

At the signing ceremony with Senegalese Economy Minister Amadou Hott, Blinken said the US Investments occurred "without saddling the country with a debt that it cannot handle," a not-so-subtle reference to China's Belts and Roads Initiative, which many see as Beijing's tool to economically subdue poorer countries.