Thriving Amid Turmoil: Wagner Group’s Expansion in Africa Boosts Russia’s Influence in the Continent
Russia has been boosting its influence in Africa via Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group, to contain conflicts from spiraling into a full-fledged war. There are thousands of Wagner group fighters in Africa. The Kremlin has been using this notorious mercenary group as one of its most influential foreign policy tools. Following the weekend mutiny, an attempt to overthrow the Russian army, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured Moscow’s allies in Africa that Wagner group fighters in Africa will not be withdrawn. He told Russia Today that instructors and private military contractors would remain in Mali and CAR. Wagner has the biggest presence in these two countries in sub-Saharan Africa . Seizing Lavrov’s words, The Sentry, an anti-corruption organization, accused the Prigozhin-led group of trying to take over CAR’s national resources – gold and diamonds. It highlighted that Wagner’s fighters have been undergoing “ul...