Russian paramilitary is taking the place of Wagner, a dreaded Russian mercenary squad well-known for organizing a failed revolt against Moscow and for allegedly perpetrating grave atrocities against people in Africa.
Wagner, which was supported by the Russian government and hailed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 for its “courage and heroism,” has long represented Moscow’s military capabilities in the Sahel, a semiarid region of western and north-central Africa that stretches from Senegal to Sudan.
However, Wagner’s departure from large areas of the region plagued by armed revolt, extreme insurgency, and frequent coups suggests that the Kremlin aims to replace it with a controlled but unofficial force.
At a 2023 Russia-Africa Summit, Putin disclosed that the Kremlin had “concluded military-technical cooperation agreements with more than 40 African countries, to which we supply a wide range of weapons and equipment.”
With anti-Western sentiments reverberating throughout the area, the Kremlin is partially filling the void left by Western forces who were driven out of the Sahel by a number of administrations between 2022 and this year.
Russia has emerged as a sought-after security partner both inside and outside of the Sahel at a time when the West has mainly focused on other issues, such as conflicts with China and the Middle East and Ukraine.
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