Wagner Force Ends Its Mission in Mali
Official circles in Mali’s capital, Bamako, are neither confirming nor disputing the departure of the Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group (P.M.C.) after three and a half years of presence. [1]
As is well known, the Mali military junta has always denied that foreign mercenaries are present on its soil, favoring the moniker “Russian instructors.”
The force, whose commanders say ‘their mission was completed with great success’, will be replaced by another Russian paramilitary structure: the ‘Africa Corps’. This is a paramilitary-semi-Russian organization that ensures the continued protection of Russia’s external interests in Africa. In other words, a name changes without a change in intent.
Officially, Wagner is ending its presence in Mali. But the Africa Corps is taking over” – this statement was published on the page of the Telegram channel associated with the PMC – Razgruzka Wagnera.[2] Russia Remains in control, most of the Wagner Force personnel in Mali, originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into the Africa Force and will remain in the key regional cities of northern Mali and in the country’s capital, Bamako.
The Africa Force reflects Russia’s desire to expand its military influence on the African continent and legitimize its official and public presence in the face of European, Chinese, and American presence. The Africa Force is deployed in five countries: Libya, Burkina Faso, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Niger. It represents the new incarnation of Russian military influence in Africa.
The activities of the Russian Wagner Force in Mali began in 2021 after a military coup in the country, during which Colonel Assimi Goïta came to power, whose position on the continued presence of French forces and international peacekeeping forces in the country was negative, which led to the withdrawal of French forces from the country in 2022. Then, in August 2023, Guetta initiated the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA) from Mali, which was another step in strengthening his power and cooperation with Russia. The activities of Colonel Guetta’s troops and Wagner’s PMC were mainly aimed at several armed groups, including two linked to Islamist terrorists, namely: Jamaat al-Nusra al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
At the same time, fighting has resumed with the Tuareg rebel group Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA).
The ceasefire, which lasted from 2015 to 2021, expired due to violations of its terms by the military junta and the activities of the Wagner Group.
The Africa Corps, made up of former Wagner Group members and new recruits, was established by the Russian Ministry of Defense shortly after the assassination of the Wagner Group commander. [3]
The organization is tightly controlled by the Russian Ministry of Defense.[4] This is a change from the fact that the Wagner Group was previously directly and closely led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.[5] Prigozhin, nicknamed ‘Putin’s chef’, was a Kremlin confidant, but with independent ambitions, who rebelled against the Russian General Staff, following allegations of a lack of support and logistical assistance from the Russian Ministry of Defense to his fighters, in the bloody battle of Bakhmut. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in July 2023.[6]
With his departure from Mali, the contribution of the ‘Wagner Force’ to the war against radical Islamic organizations is controversial. Although he boasts that he helped retake the city of Kidal from the rebels, personal security has not returned to a large part of the country’s territory. Furthermore, Wagner Force fighters have been accused, more than once, of abusing civilians and committing war crimes by international human rights organizations. For example, in March 2022, about 500 civilians in the village of Moura were massacred by them.[7]
The Wagner Force has been defeated by the rebels more than once. In August 2024, a combined Malian army and Wagner force suffered a significant defeat in the town of Tinzaouatène on the Algerian border. Separatists and jihadists killed dozens of Russian fighters and Malian army soldiers during the fighting, and even captured fighters from the Wagner Force. The army and Wagner Force admitted to significant losses in the battle, without giving their exact numbers.[8]
The flag has changed, but on the ground, the Russian footprint remains the same.
[1] Le groupe paramilitaire russe Wagner annonce son départ et est replaced by Africa Corps
https://fr.yahoo.com/news/mali-groupe-paramilitaire-russe-wagner-030338547.html
Wagner leaves Mali and returns to Russia
[2] Russia’s Wagner group declares mission accomplished in Mali
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russia-s-wagner-group-declares-mission-accomplished-1749221155.html
[3] Africa corps—a new iteration of Russia’s old military presence in Africa
https://pism.pl/webroot/upload/files/Raport/PISM%20Report%20Africa%20Corps_end.pdf
[4] Revisiting Russian “Africa Corps” Organizational Structure
[5] The Wagner Group was founded when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. The organization has played a shadowy role in supporting Russia’s military and geopolitical goals in Europe and Africa – its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted years later that he was the group’s founder and leader, but the Kremlin has always denied any involvement with the Wagner Group.
[6] According to media reports, during the attacks on Bakhmut, the Wagner PMC lost at least 19,547 fighters, more than 17,000 of whom were Russian prisoners of war recruited as cannon fodder.
Media learns Wagner losses during Bakhmut assaults: Almost 90% were prisoners
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/media-learns-wagner-losses-during-bakhmut-1718044142.html
[7] Corpses found near an army camp after the raffle of tens of civilians in Mali
[8] Au Mali, le lourd revers des mercenaires russes de Wagner
