France has been involved in fighting Islamic extremism in the Sahel for over 8 years alongside its former colonies, earning the nickname France’s Forever War. According to the New York Times, just this past year Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have “lost hundreds” of soldiers due to raids by Islamic terrorists on military outposts.
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French Foreign Legionaries in the Sahel |
As French commitment seems uncertain, another powerful player has moved into the conflict: The Wagner Group. First appearing during Russia’s fighting in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014, Wagner has been on the ground wherever Russian interests are. In Syria, they aggressively backed Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, even at one point engaging US special forces in the region in 2017. In 2019, they provided security for Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, a close friend of Russian oil companies, during wide scale protests. Since then Wagner Group has moved into Africa, including Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
Wagner Group acts like a multinational corporation directly under Russian government control, except one problem: it doesn't exist. The name Wagner is a name given to a intentionally confusing web of overlapping ownership of shell companies, mercenary groups, and logistic chains linked to the very top of the Russian government tracked down by investigative journalists and government agencies. The fact that it appears decentralized allows it to avoid legal troubles. Using its connections to Russian Military and Intelligence agencies, Wagner provides trained and experienced personnel to the rulers of destabilized countries in exchange for highly profitable drilling and mining concessions to Russian companies. Many of these areas are often too dangerous for regular companies to operate, due to rebel or extremist groups; however Wagner has the firepower to protect its assets, but often at the expense of innocent civilians. All of this comes with complete plausible deniability for the Russian government, who do not have to answer for war crimes and human rights violations committed by the mercenaries in foreign countries. Arguably, Wagner profits from these conflict zones, and has no desire to improve their situations.
In response to Wagner's deal with Mali, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: "Wagner is a militia that has shown itself in the past in Syria and Central African Republic to have carried out abuses and all sorts of violations that do not correspond with any solution and so it is incompatible with our presence."
In a recent update September 16th, French forces announced that they had killed Adnan Abou Walid al Sahraoui, leader of the Islamic State in the Grand Sahara (ISGS), mastermind behind attacks on French aid workers and US special forces in the region of the Sahel. Despite this good news, the fact remains that at some point France will leave the Sahel, with almost nothing achieved; meanwhile, Russian influence in Africa will increase with the involvement of the Wagner Group.
Sources
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210915-french-troops-neutralise-leader-of-islamic-state-in-the-greater-sahara-macron-says
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20210914-reports-of-russia-mercenary-deal-in-mali-alarm-france?utm_source=dailybrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyBrief2021Sep15&utm_term=DailyNewsBrief
https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/security-disarmament-and-non-proliferation/terrorism-france-s-international-action/article/france-s-action-in-the-sahel
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/world/africa/france-sahel-west-africa-.html
https://www.csis.org/blogs/post-soviet-post/band-brothers-wagner-group-and-russian-state
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/russias-wagner-group-reportedly-deployed-in-africa/2165414
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