In a marked shift of strategy and a potential game-changer in its Africa policy, Russia has reportedly created a new mercenary army known as the “Africa Corps,” ostensibly to replace the controversial Wagner Group and to bolster its military presence across the continent. This development arrives amidst a backdrop of significant geopolitical movements, including the withdrawal of French troops from strategically important regions like Mali and Burkina Faso, and the shifting allegiances of those countries towards Russia.
The new Africa Corps shares its name, controversially, with Adolf Hitler’s World War II expeditionary force and is expected to encompass 20,000 mercenaries for deployments in at least five African nations friendly to Russia – Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, and Niger. Despite the dissolution of the Wagner Group following the death of its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, it is purportedly active, and the Africa Corps aims to absorb both new recruits and former fighters from Wagner by mid-year.
The stakes are high with this expansion, as it appears to consolidate Russia’s control over the Wagner Group’s business network, which includes potentially lucrative mining interests in Africa. An unnamed source close to the Russian Ministry of Defence has indicated the intention to recruit a large force, though questions linger on where these personnel will be sourced, considering Russia’s simultaneous efforts to muster another 250,000 recruits for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Critics argue that officializing Russia’s military role in Africa could strip it of the ability to deny UN accusations of war crimes previously directed at the Wagner mercenaries. “There is a downside for the Russians as well, which is that you no longer have deniability. If you rebrand those forces as part of the army, you now own that problem,” observed Pham, a former senior US diplomat.
The initial deployment is relatively modest, with around 100 troops already positioned in Burkina Faso following a military coup in 2022. Plans also include the establishment of a regional headquarters in the Central African Republic, signaling a deepening of the security cooperation that has been evident with Wagner’s activities in the region over recent years.
Russia’s approach taps into the political instability and insurgencies in West Africa, along with the resentment towards former colonial powers and perceived Western interference. Moscow has been signing mutual defense pacts with Sahelian countries, thus deepening its security engagements. This raises concerns in the international community, particularly with the US State Department expressing wariness about Russia gaining a significant foothold in Niger, where the US maintains an important drone base.
Relevant articles:
– Bloomberg: Russia creates new mercenary army in Africa called “Africa Corps”, replacing Wagner group
– Russia forms Africa corps to extend military presence, replace Wagner mercenary, Firstpost, Wed, 31 Jan 2024 07:33:08 GMT
– Russia war: Putin ‘forms new Africa mercenary group’ with same name as Nazis, The Telegraph, Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:01:00 GMT
– Who is the Wagner Group officer Putin asked to form ‘volunteer battalions’?, Al Jazeera English, Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT