US lifts sanctions on top Malian officials as ties improve

DAKAR (Reuters) - The US has lifted sanctions targeting three senior Malian officials for their relationship with Russia's mercenary group Wagner, according to a notification from the Treasury Department, as bilateral relations improve.

The Trump administration has brushed aside concerns about dealing with military-led governments in Africa's Sahel region, aiming instead to focus on shared interests like the growing potency of jihadist groups.

The Malian officials delisted on Friday included Defense Minister Sadio Camara and senior military officials Alou Boi Diarra and Adama Bagayoko.

All had been sanctioned for their connections to the now largely defunct Wagner mercenary group, which Russia has since folded into its Africa Corps.

There was no immediate response from the Malian government.

The top US envoy to Africa, Nick Checker, visited Mali last month to discuss the next steps for building closer ties, according to the State Department.

Last year, Washington moved to resume intelligence sharing with Mali to support counterterrorism efforts.

Cameron Hudson, a former US official who worked on Africa at the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department, said the move appeared to be part of a broader effort to re-engage with the Sahel.

"The US in recent months has substantially increased its engagement with Malian authorities in an effort to restart counterterrorism cooperation and to further underline the message that the US will no longer be hamstrung in its foreign policy by disengaging in countries run by military juntas," he told Reuters.

Under the Biden administration, the US lost its main spy base in the region, in neighbouring Niger, and was banned from carrying out intelligence-gathering flights, severely hobbling its ability to monitor and counter jihadists there.

Mali, along with its Sahel neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, has struggled to beat back an expanding, decade-long jihadist insurgency led by local groups allied to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

The violence has spread to coastal nations and is causing a growing number of casualties.