More than 100 tonnes of United Nations ammunition was transferred from the UN’s mission in Mali to Burkina Faso on an aircraft belonging to a company under US sanctions linked to Russia’s Wagner Group.

That’s according to Paris-based news outlet The Africa Report, which noted that the munitions could now end up in the hands of the Burkina Faso military junta, with no way to guarantee that they can be recovered by the UN, creating potential negative implications for regional stability.

The munitions, originally intended to be stored in the Ivory Coast, were redirected to Burkina Faso amidst a complex and hurried logistical process.

The ammunition belonged to MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, which is leaving the country at the demand of Assimi Goïta, Mali’s interim president and junta leader. The withdrawal is nearly complete but has faced issues with the destruction of MINUSMA's ammunition.

Bamako refused to allow the destruction in Mali, necessitating alternative plans. Although Ivory Coast agreed to store the ammunition, it was instead transported to Burkina Faso between June 15 and 18, during a time when Burkina Faso’s military was dealing with a major attack, complicating the situation further.

According to The Africa Report’s sources, the hasty withdrawal of MINUSMA likely caused a logistical error, resulting in ammunition being sent to Burkina Faso. The military there, often accused of war crimes, now possesses this stockpile without any agreement on its destruction, raising concerns about instability and misuse.

“It has to be a logistical error. It can’t be otherwise, or else it’s serious,” one UN source based in the region told the publication. “It remains to be seen who will get the ammunition back. Anything is conceivable… They could be reused by Burkina Faso, or partly transferred back to their Malian partners, who wanted them, or even to their Russian allies, who must have played a role in providing the aircraft.”

The ammo was flown to Burkina Faso on Abakan Air, a Russian company under US sanctions.  This decision was made by the Burkina Faso government, not the UN, according to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). 

In June 2024, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Abakan Air for transporting arms and military equipment on behalf of Russia's defence sector and operating in Sub-Saharan Africa for the private military company Wagner Group. Abakan Air remains unsanctioned elsewhere and continues operations with one active Il-76TD freighter and various helicopters.