AFRICA ( Commonwealth Union) _ The Wagner Group’s actions in Africa, the West does undoubtedly have a harsh choice to make, but in any case, it is likely that Western interests will suffer in some way. For years, the Sahel area and the countries of Central Africa have been terrorized by militias linked to al-Qaida and Daesh who take advantage of porous borders and vast tracts of ungoverned land. Russia has had opportunities to advance on the continent thanks to this dangerous concoction of unpredictability, terrorism, poverty, and weak regimes in some parts of Africa. Several local state and non-state actors in the Sahel and Central Africa have adopted the Wagner Group, a secretive Russian mercenary outfit tied to the Kremlin, as a security partner after failing to effectively confront terrorist groups on their own.
As Gen. Khalifa Haftar launched his assault on Tripoli in April 2019, The Wagner Group sided with him, and there are still up to 2,000 Russian mercenaries in the nation. The private military firm reportedly also conducts business in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan, and Sudan. The mercenary group’s violations of human rights in the CAR, Mali, and other places have been recorded by groups like Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Russia’s soft power push
In order to promote the idea that Russia is a rival force to France in Africa, Moscow has taken use of long-standing animosities among African nations toward their former Western European occupiers. “By seizing states and forming alliances with isolated military regimes, the Russians are attempting to fill the gap left by France’s withdrawal and establish themselves as the main power in West Africa. According to Samuel Ramani, an associate scholar at the Royal United Services Institute, “this is helpful (from Moscow’s standpoint) since it undercuts French claims to neo-colonial power in West Africa.
Impeding Western efforts
Although there is no denying that Russia has geopolitical reasons for wanting to become a global powerhouse, the majority of its interests and needs in sub-Saharan Africa have to do with resources. By bilateral agreements with regional governments, Russia has taken advantage of economic and commercial opportunities and supported local actors where the West refused.
Europe’s concerns
While NATO’s southern flank is somewhat exposed and post-Cold War tensions between the West and Moscow are at an all-time high, U.S. and European officials see the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa as a threat. The Wagner Group’s operations pose a threat to both the EU and the citizens of the countries in which they operate, according to Josep Borrell, head of the European Union’s foreign policy.
