Wagner Group - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Wagner Group is now Africa Corps. What this means for Russia’s operations on the continent

In August 2023, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died after his private jet crashed about an hour after taking off in Moscow. He had been Russia’s pointsman in Africa since the Wagner Group began operating on the continent in 2017. The group is known for deploying paramilitary forces, running disinformation campaigns and propping up influential political leaders. It has had a destabilising effect. Prigozhin’s death – and his aborted mutiny against Russian military commanders two months earlier – has led to a shift in Wagner Group’s activities. ALESSANDRO ARDUINO, Affiliate Lecturer, King's College London What does this mean for Africa?…

Oct

2023

By GUY FAULCONBRIDGE

Mourners hail dead Russian mercenary Prigozhin as hero of the people

WORLD

AT memorials to Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in an unexplained plane crash exactly 40 days ago, dozens of mourners hailed the mutinous mercenary chief as a patriotic hero of Russia who had spoken truth to power. The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St. Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on August 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. It is still unclear what caused the plane to crash two months to the day since Prigozhin's failed mutiny. The Kremlin said on Aug. 30 that…

Jul

2023

By JUDICAEL YONGO

Central African Republic says Wagner troop movement is rotation not departure

NEWS

THE departure of hundreds of Russian Wagner troops from the Central African Republic is part of a rotation of forces rather than a withdrawal, a spokesperson for the CAR presidency said. The short-lived mutiny led by Wagner mercenary founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia in June has raised questions about the outlook for his group's sprawling network of military and commercial operations across CAR and other parts of Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. Reports of the recent departure of large numbers of Wagner personnel from CAR by plane have fuelled speculation in recent days that the group is pulling out of the country, where…

Jul

2023

By GUY FAULCONBRIDGE

Mercenary chief Prigozhin back in Russia, Belarus’s Lukashenko says

WORLD

BELARUSIAN President Alexander Lukashenko said that the mutinous chief of Russia's Wagner group was still in Russia with thousands of fighters, but dismissed speculation that President Vladimir Putin would have Yevgeny Prigozhin killed. Lukashenko helped broker a deal to end last month's mutiny, the gravest challenge to Putin in his 23 years in power, under which Prigozhin was supposed to stand down his mercenaries and move to Belarus in exchange for Putin dropping charges. But in comments that raised questions about the deal, Lukashenko said Prigozhin and his fighters were still in Russia, and that it was possible they would…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

What does the Wagner Group do? Operations in Africa and the rest of the world explained

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE abortive mutiny by Russia's Wagner group last week calls into question the fate of the group's wide network of military and commercial operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This factbox shows what Wagner is doing and where. UKRAINE Wagner deployed in Ukraine soon after the invasion began early last year and by the summer it was enlisting thousands of prisoners to fight for it on the front lines. By December, as it took a central role in the battle for Bakhmut, U.S. intelligence estimated it had 40,000 prisoner recruits fighting in Ukraine, though Wagner itself has not commented on…

Jun

2023

By PHIL STEWART and IDREES ALI

US asks what’s next for Wagner Group in Middle East, Africa, after mutiny attempt

NEWS

THE United States is examining how the Wagner Group's short-lived mutiny against Russia's military establishment might affect the mercenaries' operations in the Middle East and Africa, officials said. Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin startled the world by leading an armed revolt on Saturday that brought his fighters from the Ukrainian border to within 200 kilometres (125 miles) of Moscow before he abruptly called off the uprising. U.S. policymakers view the mercenary force through the prism of a rivalry with Russia for influence in Africa and the Middle East and accuse it of gross human rights violations. The U.S. military has clashed directly…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Russian mercenaries return to bases after challenge to Putin’s authority

WORLD

HEAVILY armed Russian mercenaries withdrew from the southern Russian city of Rostov overnight under a deal that halted their rapid advance on Moscow but raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power. Ending their mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group headed back to their bases in return for guarantees for their safety. Their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, will move to Belarus under the deal mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested the turmoil in Russia could take months to play out, while Italy's foreign minister said it had shattered the "myth" of Russian unity. Putin…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Putin under siege: Wagner Africa ops under microscope

NEWS

A revolt by the Wagner militia in Russia poses a diplomatic quandary for Mali and Central African Republic (CAR), where forces from the mercenary group have played an increasingly central role in long-running internal conflicts. As the Wagner fighters barrelled towards Moscow after seizing a southern city overnight, spokespeople for the governments of Mali and CAR declined to comment on the turmoil and how it might affect their security strategies against militant groups. Both countries have sought closer ties with Russia and military support to fight the militants, saying in the past that their military cooperation agreements are with Russia rather than…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Mali faces spectre of anarchy after demanding UN’s departure

NEWS

EDWARD MCALLISTER and DAVID LEWIS MALI'S demand for the departure of U.N. peacekeepers heralded a sudden end to a decade-long mission that has struggled to protect civilians and its own troops, raising fears the country could slide deeper into chaos amid an Islamist insurgency and the possible revival of a separatist uprising. The U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, has been hobbled by restrictions on its air and ground operations since Mali's ruling junta joined forces with Russian military contractor Wagner Group in 2021, limiting its effectiveness against an Islamist insurgency that took root a decade ago and has since spread across…

May

2023

By FELIX LIGHT, CALEB DAVIS and ANDREW OSBORN

Russian mercenary chief says fighters to leave Ukraine’s Bakhmut to ‘lick wounds’

WORLD

YEVGENY Prigozhin, leader of Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force, said in a dramatic announcement on Friday that his forces would pull out of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut that they have been trying to capture since last summer. Prigozhin said they would withdraw on May 10 - ending their involvement in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war - because of heavy losses and inadequate ammunition supplies. He asked defence chiefs to insert regular army troops in their place. "I declare on behalf of the Wagner fighters, on behalf of the Wagner command, that on May 10, 2023, we…