As if fighting in what – for now, at least – appears to be a losing battle in Ukraine weren’t enough, the Wagner Group, a private army of Russian mercenaries commanded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, is heavily committed in a range of conflicts and security crises in west Africa.
Already involved in Libya, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Sudan and Madagascar, the Wagner Group is engaged in training, fighting anti-government forces and brutally quashing protests, all supporting Russia’s fight to supplant the influence of French and the UK’s former colonial powers in Africa.
Mali, a country at the core of violent extremism spreading throughout west African Sahel, has pledged allegiance to Russia at the expense of France, which wound up its operations there in August, despite nine years and a total cost of billions of euros for supporting its military.
