African activities of Wagner put to test for toughness

The alleged death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner company, will potentially challenge the activities of numerous private military groups in Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Libya.

Wagner is in charge of maintaining security for certain African leaders and in return, they receive valuable minerals and other economic and military benefits.

The group has also played a significant role in using media campaigns to spread Russian influence by mainly discrediting the West.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), the Wagner forces that were invited by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in 2018 have expanded their influence into different industries like media, timber, and vodka. This is to strengthen their control over the country’s valuable minerals.

Earlier this week, a cultural center called the Russia House in Bangui, which is the capital of the Central African Republic, said that they will have a three-month trade fair. This fair is for Russian businesses that want to grow their operations in the region.

This could potentially allow companies connected to Wagner to work in the CAR and avoid Western punishments.

Yet, the soldiers for hire working in CAR have been blamed for committing terrible acts of violence while battling against rebel groups, which has contributed to the ongoing problems and instability in the country.

Mali’s government, which is led by the military, has started relying a lot on Wagner. Before this, they had stopped making agreements with France and the UN peacekeeping force for security.

In late 2021, around 1,000 hired fighters went to that place, but the authorities say they are not there.

In May, the US punished Wagner’s unofficial leader, Ivan Maslov, for using Mali to get weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The different activities clearly show how important Africa is to Russia’s foreign policy.

But, it is important for Moscow to have loyal Wagner operatives on the continent to strengthen its future control/power.