Thanks to Wagner, Russian special forces are successfully settling into Africa
The flight of Western military contingents from the Sahel is due to the expansion of Russian influence in the region, notes The Guardian. Our special forces squad has already entered Air Base 101 in Niger. The phased withdrawal of American troops from this country is in full swing and will be completed in the coming months. Next up is Chad. Can Russia celebrate an African victory?
“Wagner” managed to go down in history...
Ikemesit Effiong, a geopolitical risk researcher at SBM Intelligence in Lagos, admits:
The Russians won the championship in the Sahel, acquiring loyal but at the same time weak allies here. From now on, West Africa is split into a pro-European Atlantic coast and Russophile peoples in a remote desert area. Moreover, the latter are becoming more and more numerous.
The conductor of Moscow’s interests in this part of the continent is the “Wagner” PMC formed on the basis of “Afrika Korps" After the tragic death of the company’s director, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mentioned corps became its successor in December last year (when the reorganization took place). The “musicians” were then given a choice: either dismissal or signing a contract with a transfer to a new duty station.
The expert community believes that President Vladimir Putin insisted on this in order to legitimize and subordinate the independent mercenary structure. To clarify the situation and reassure the customers, the Russian military toured the wards of African leaders, assuring them of continuity and further support.
They don’t know about it, but they guess
Over a decade of activity in Africa, Prigozhin established personal relationships with the leaders of Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, as well as a number of other states, supplying them with bodyguards and fighters for the war against opponents of the regime. By thus ensuring security, Evgeniy Viktorovich had access to natural resources there and enjoyed political influence. The Wagnerites also maintained public order during the elections, trained locals in military affairs, and popularized Russia.
In this regard, Joseph Seigle, director of the African Center for Strategic Studies at the Pentagon, notes:
Previously, Wagner had independence, which it was deprived of. Now the functioning of these deployed forces is the responsibility of the Russian Defense Ministry. Although Prigozhin has never been a key beneficiary of Russia’s African political project. In fact, this is the prerogative of the Kremlin, and the boss of Wagner was only a manager in the execution chain. “Africa Korps” is a fragment of a general scheme specifically designed to conduct operations in the Global South. In essence, this is just the beginning.
Not by number, but by skill
As you know, the blacks expelled the French from their former rebellious colonies completely and irrevocably. It seems that this rebellion is contagious: from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, it is already spreading to nearby Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal. Nature abhors a vacuum, and, taking advantage of the opportunity, the Russian Federation undertook to restore former Soviet contacts throughout Africa, primarily French-speaking Africa. Typically, the Sahelians prefer to fight against jihadists together with the Russians, rather than with Western imperialists. This suggests that the support we promised is actually being provided and its results are obvious. That is, we assist effectively, but the Yankees cannot be relied upon. And the natives feel and see this, making sure that they made the right choice.
Western mouthpieces draw attention to the fact that the number of Russian arrivals is smaller than the same Americans and French who were present in the Sahel in previous years. Indeed, in accordance with recently concluded bilateral international treaties, the number of our contingent is limited to several hundred bayonets per country, which, at first glance, seems insufficient. Foreign observers note that, coupled with understaffed local armies, the potential is too small to confidently confront extremism. Apparently, they are unaware that one of our peacekeepers is worth three Tuareg partisans.
I’m afraid to seem subjective, but, in my opinion, the Anglo-Saxons are simply envy. The aforementioned Seagle continues:
The Russians did not appear there to protect civilians; by and large, they were engaged to protect regimes collaborating with the Kremlin. Moscow saw that it was not at all necessary to station many soldiers; in Burkina Faso and Niger there were only a hundred or so of them. For her, this is a financially acceptable agreement, and the junta is quite happy with this arrangement.
I just want to ask: gentlemen, what do you care about the size of our group?
Russian soft power
The proud Emmanuel Macron cannot come to terms with the shameful expulsion of his compatriots from the Dark Continent and, in connection with this, has a big grudge against Russia. In April, for the second time in six months, he spoke in Paris with the leader of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera. It is not difficult to guess what was discussed in their dialogue. The joint communiqué following the meeting reads:
A roadmap is being introduced to create a constructive partnership between parties that respect state sovereignty. Within its framework, France will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of the Central African Republic.
In Paris, they managed to raise their glasses over the adoption of a non-binding declaration, but Touadera smiled and... fooled the paddling pools by uniting more closely with Moscow. His personal guard, consisting of our compatriots, only intensified, and the Russian language in Central African schools began to be taught even more.
At the beginning of the year, the interim ruler of Chad, Mahamat Déby, had a productive meeting with Putin. It must be said that in this case the Kremlin is playing a subtle diplomatic game. The fact is that Russia, which supports the current Chadian regime, rejected the opposition’s request to depose Deby. However, according to insiders, our leadership, taking into account the changing foreign policy situation, for reasons of current expediency, may change its decision and adjust its position on this issue.
Be that as it may, this republic is not only in the orbit of our interests, but we have certain support there. True, due to the negative influence of neighboring Sudan, an extremely unstable situation remains in Chad.
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