Russia is attempting to expand its influence in the less developed nations of Africa in order to create a “second front” to fight the West there. Moscow is confident it can forge a “coup belt” that will consolidate Russian power and drive the West from Africa. Strategic mineral reserves are being sought after by Russia, which would hinder the development of high-tech businesses in African nations. The Russian Federation appropriates the economic resources of Africa through its PMCs, according to Despatches and IFBG.
Wagner mercenaries from Russia have already demonstrated their capacity to turn to such tactical measures as disinformation campaigns, resource sacrifices, arms sales, and security contracts.
Owner of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin long pretended to have no connection to the PMC, which is said to be an independent entity. However, he acknowledged that he acted in Africa in accordance with the Russian leadership’s orders during the “Wagnerians'” rebellion.
The sponsorship of the Wagner PMC mercenaries by the Russian government, which meddles in the internal affairs of African nations and conducts operations to overturn legal governments (such as in Mali and Burkina Faso), was publicly confirmed last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reports of war crimes are spreading everywhere the Wagner group goes. The UN charged the Wagner mercenaries with arbitrary detentions, torture, and indiscriminate killings of residents last year. This demonstrates that Moscow has supported a genocide against colonists.
Russia intends to hire thousands of African mercenaries and despatch them to the conflict in Ukraine despite suffering substantial military losses. Mercenary soldiers from Tanzania, Zambia, and Cote d’Ivoire who were Wagner PMC members have already been confirmed dead in Ukraine. They were supposedly detained for drug distribution in Russian prisons when they were recruited. Nemesa Tarimo, 32, a mercenary of the Wagner PMC from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, died in Odradivka, close to Bakhmut, Donetsk Region, on October 24, 2022. Lemekani Nyirenda, a 19-year-old resident of Côte d’Ivoire, also passed away in November.
Not only is Russia responsible for the Wagner PMC’s atrocities in Africa, but also for enlisting African individuals to fight in its war. African nations won’t ever feel secure as long as Russian mercenaries are present there.
