Russia-backed Wagner Group says it will leave Mali, but African Legion will continue
this Russia-backed Wagner Group Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country have left Mali with more than three and a half years, said Friday.
Despite Wagner’s announcement, Russia will continue to have mercenaries in West African countries. The African Legion, a paramilitary force controlled by the Russian state, said on its telegram channel on Friday that Wagner’s departure would not introduce any changes and that the Russian contingent will remain in Mali.
Wagner is a group of entities operating as a private military company or PMC. These PMCs can be hired by the government for security or combat services.
The group announced through a channel on its messaging app Telegraph: “The mission is completed. It said it puts all regional capitals under control of the Malian army, expelling the militants and killing their commanders.
Mali fought with neighbors Burkina Faso and Burkina Faso and Niger for more than a decade, fighting insurgent battles against armed groups, including Al-Qaida and the Islamic State Group.
As Western influence in the region weakens, Russia tries to enter a vacuum and provides assistance. Moscow initially expanded its military cooperation with African countries through the use of Wagner Mercenaries. But because of the leader of the group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Once was Deadly in a 2023 plane crashMoscow has been developing the African Legion as a competitive force for Wagner after a brief armed insurgency in Russia.
The African Legion is under the direct command of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to U.S. officials, there are about 2,000 mercenaries in Mali. It is unclear how many Wagner has and part of the African Legion.
Beverly Ochieng, a security analyst specializing in risk control consulting firms, said the Russian Ministry of Defense has been negotiating with Mali to hire more African Legion fighters and to have Wagner hire mercenaries to join the Russian state-controlled threaded force.
“Since Prigozhin’s death, Russia has developed the entire plan and then put the Wagner Group under the command of the Ministry of Defense. One of the steps they have done is to transform the African Legion or introduce the African Legion, which is the way Russian paramilitary personnel will retain in the areas under which the Wagner Group is conducted,” Ochieng said.
Wagner has been in a military coup in Mali since the end of 2021, replacing French troops and international peacekeeping personnel to help fight militants. But Mali troops and Russian mercenaries worked to curb violence in the country and were accused of targeting civilians.
Last month, UN experts urged Malian authorities to investigate reports of suspected summary executions and enforced disappearances by Vorgna mercenaries and the army.
In December, Human Rights Watch accused the Malian armed forces and the Wagner group of deliberately killed at least 32 civilians in eight months.
Wagner’s withdrawal was announced as Malian troops and Russian mercenaries suffered huge losses in the attacks of Jnim, who was connected to Al-Qaida in recent weeks.
Last week, James fighters killed dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base in central Mali.
Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert based in Morocco’s New Southern Policy Center, said significant losses could have led to a possible end to the Wagner mission.
“The lack of formal and mutual announcements by the Malian authorities and Wagner suggests that internal disputes may have led to this sudden decision. At the same time, this may point to a new framework in which Russia exists in the country,” he said.
Ulf Laessing, head of Sahel program at Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said replacing Wagner with African troops could shift Russia’s focus in Mali to training.
“The African Legion has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and providing protection services. They have fewer combat than the ‘Rambo-type’ Wagner Merceneries,” Laessing said.
