French minister heads to Sahel amid talk of Russian hired guns for Mali

FILE PHOTO: A French soldier leaves with his backpack at the Operational Desert Platform Camp (PfOD) during the Operation Barkhane in Gao, Mali, August 1, 2019. Picture taken August 1, 2019. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

NIAMEY (Reuters) - France's Armed Forces Minister arrived in Niger on Sunday as part of a two-day visit to allies in the Sahel region, where French-led military operations against Islamist militants are under threat from Mali's talks with Russian defence contractors.

Diplomatic and security sources have told Reuters that Mali's year-old military junta is close to recruiting the Russian Wagner Group, and France has launched a diplomatic drive to thwart it, saying such an arrangement is "incompatible" with a continued French presence.