Wagner’s mercenaries leave Mali and give way to Africa Corps, controlled by the Russian Defense Ministry – Liberation
A departure that does not sign the end of the Russian presence in the Sahel. The Russian paramilitary group Wagner Leaving Mali, a country where it has been present since 2021, announced diplomatic and security sources this Sunday, June 8. A message published Friday June 6 on a Telegram channel affiliated to the group was already welcoming this departure: « Mission accomplished. Wagner returns home ”.
The contingents of the most famous group of Russian mercenaries, dismantled and reorganized following the Death of his chief Evgueni Prigojine in August 2023, will then be reintegrated into his successor, the Africa Corps. This paramilitary organization is directly placed under the thumb of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
« Officially, Wagner Stop his presence in Mali. But Africa Corps takes over ”, underlines a diplomatic source in the Sahel. « The Kremlin remains master of the game », nuance the same source: « Most of the staff of Wagner In Mali and from Russia will be reinstated in Africa Corps and maintained in the chief towns of the North region and in Bamako. ”
From the Two strokes in 2020 And 2021 who brought the junta led by the general to power Assimi Goïta, Mali has decided to break its alliance with the former French colonist to turn militarily and politically towards Russia. Officially, Mali has never recognized the presence of Wagner’s mercenaries, but claimed to call on Russian instructors.
« Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our interlocutor remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin », reacted a Malian security source this Sunday.
A Malian military source confirms for its part to continue the « Military cooperation with Russia, Wagner or not ». « Russia remains our strategic partner in military cooperation », added this source.
Most security operations in Africa are now coordinated by this paramilitary organization, the name of which is a direct reference to the unit « Afrikakorps », Reich battalions that fought in northern Africa during the Second World War. The brutal methods of the group on the ground in Mali are regularly denounced by human rights NGOs.
