The Wagner group backed by Russia says that it leaves Mali, but the body of Africa will remain

He Wagner Group Backed by Russia Said on Friday that will leave Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country.

Despite Wagner’s announcement, Russia will continue to have a mercenary presence in the country of Western Africa. The body of Africa, the paramilitary force controlled by the state of Russia, said on its telegram channel on Friday that Wagner’s departure would not introduce any change and the Russian contingent will remain in Mali.

Wagner It is a group of entities that operate as a private military company, or PMC. These PMCs can be hired by governments for security or combat services.

“Mission fulfilled. The private military company Wagner returns home,” the group announced through its channel in the Telegram messaging application. He said he had put all the regional capitals under the control of the Malian army, expelled the armed militants and killed his commanders.

Mali, along with the neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has fought for more than a decade in an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allies with Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

As western influence in the region has decreased, Russia has tried to enter the vacuum, sweeping with assistance offers. Initially, Moscow expanded its military cooperation with African nations using the Wagner mercenary group. But from the group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash in 2023After setting up a brief armed rebellion in Russia that challenged the government of President Vladimir Putin, Moscow has been developing the Africa body as a rival force for Wagner.

Africa Corps is under the direct command of the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to US officials, there are about 2,000 mercenaries in Mali. It is not clear how many are with Wagner and how many are part of the body of Africa.

Beverly Ochieng, a security analyst specialized in Sahel’s control risks, said Russia’s Ministry of Defense had been negotiating with Mali to face more combatants of the Africa body and so that Wagner’s mercenaries join the paramilitary force controlled by the state of Russia.

“Since the death of Prigozhin, Russia has had all this plan to make the Wagner group under the command of the Ministry of Defense. One of the steps they made was to renew or introduce the body of Africa, which is the way in which Russian paramilitaries would retain a presence in areas where the Wagner group has been operating,” said Ochieng.

Wagner has been present in Mali since the late 2021 after a military coup, replacing French troops and the maintenance of international peace to help fight the militants. But the Malian army and the Russian mercenaries fought to stop violence in the country and have been accused of attacking civilians.

Last month, the United Nations experts urged the Malian authorities to investigate reports of alleged summary executions and disappearances forced by the Wagner mercenaries and the army.

In December, Human Rights Watch accused the Malian armed forces and the Wagner group deliberately killing at least 32 civilians in a period of 8 months.

The announcement of Wagner’s withdrawal occurs when the Malian army and Russian mercenaries suffered strong losses during the attacks of the Jnim group linked al-Qaida in recent weeks.

Last week, Jnim’s combatants killed dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base in the center of Mali.

Rida Lyammouri, an expert in Sahel at the Morocco -based policy center for the new South, said the main losses could have caused the possible final of Wagner’s mission.

“The lack of an official and mutual announcement of the Malian authorities and Wagner indicate a possible internal dispute that led to this sudden decision. Simultaneously, this could point out a new framework for the Russian presence in the country,” he said.

Replace Wagner with the Troops of the Africa body would probably change the Russian approach in Mali to fight along with the Malian army to train, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

“Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services. They fight less than Wagner mercenaries of” Rambo type, “said Laessing.

• Wagner Group
• Yevgeny Prigozhin
• Africa
• Mali