Wagner Group’s Post-Mutiny Crackup Is a Threat to Africa
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Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesThe Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military corporation filled with mercenaries and led by ignoble billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, entered the American consciousness with Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Even more people came to know them when Prigozhin staged a short-lived mutiny where his forces briefly took the city of Rostov in southwestern Russia. Putin was able to end the mutiny without any damage, ex
Even more people came to know them when Prigozhin staged a short-lived mutiny where his forces briefly took the city of Rostov in southwestern Russia. Putin was able to end the mutiny without any damage, except to his fearsome reputation.
What’s less discussed about the Wagner Group is their activities in other parts of the world—namely war-torn areas in the Middle East and Africa.
Even if Putin is in charge, his image as a strongman was severely weakened by the mutiny attempt itself. Whether the Wagner mercenaries will accept his leadership without Prigozhin is anyone's guess.
If remaining Wagner mercenaries do not have a clear chain of command, or divided loyalties, or even lower morale since the removal of Prigozhin, they are more susceptible to offers from CAR’s many ex-Seleka and anti-balaka groups. (It is believed by the UN and human rights organizations that both ex-Seleka and anti-balaka groups have committed war crimes.)
Countries like CAR and Chad were violent and unstable and prone to coup attempts long before the arrival of Wagner. The west’s contributions to less stability and security in Africa also predate Russia and Wagner.
However, the potential human cost of an unstable mercenary group like Wagner in countries that are already struggling with Boko Haram and sectarian warring factions is very high.
While the world is rightly focused upon the unjust invasion of Ukraine, we must not lose sight of how the fallout could affect Africa and its people. We see how the developed world and its media has prioritized the lives of Ukrainians, it’s time they show the same regard for Black African lives.
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