There is less and less Europe and more Russia on the horizon for Africa’s future. Nearly twenty military agreements have already been signed with the Wagner mercenary group, whose new brand is Africa Corps. The Kremlin aims to intensify relations at all levels, especially with the resource-rich Sahel strip. After the agreements made with the coup governments in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, the leader of the giant Chad went to Putin’s palace. Moscow promises to guarantee the stability needed in the region, which has been subjected to oppression by jihadist forces that the armies of France and the European Union have failed to weaken in recent years.
Déby’s visit to Moscow
On January 24, President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno flew to Moscow at the invitation of Vladimir Putin. The event marks a “historic visit” that leaves less room for the pro-French relations the African country has established so far. In 2021, Déby succeeded “temporarily” following the death of his father Idriss in battle. The actual coup took place without Paris objecting to his rise to power. Still, the Chadian leader preferred to look in the direction of Moscow. The Kremlin’s promise to contribute to “stability” in Chad emerged from the meeting between Déby and Putin. Talking about a “new route” in relations between Moscow and N’Djamena (the capital of Chad), the trip of the Chadian leader coincides with the arrival of Russian forces in Burkina Faso.
Russian soldiers in Burkina Faso
Reuters reported that a group of Russian soldiers flew to the capital Ouagadougou. According to foreign security sources cited by the news agency, this will be the “first significant deployment of Russian troops” to the country after the expulsion of the French army in early 2023. A group of 100 soldiers will arrive in Burkina Faso. “To ensure the security of the country’s leader, Ibrahim Traoré, and the people of Burkinabob,” we read on the Telegram channel of the Russian news agency Africa Initiative, which follows African events. Another 200 people are expected to arrive in the near future.
Military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
The Russian president’s goal appears to be to support and stabilize the agreements in the Sahara border strip. In recent years, the Sahel has turned into a massive jihadist camp that terrorizes the population and throws governments into crisis. Military intervention by Europe, especially France, did little to help. Again for these reasons, the coups of the last three years found fertile ground; Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger saw a “strong” changing of the guard, according to elected presidents. All military juntas decided to cut ties with Paris and Brussels and strengthen relations with Moscow instead. The Kremlin has convinced the leaders of these countries that they can guarantee a more effective military response to jihadism than that offered so far by European Union countries.
Russian mercenaries of the Afrika Korps
In 2021, the Bamako junta signed an agreement with Wagner’s mercenaries, but the desired results were not achieved in the fight against the rebels. Breaking previously stipulated agreements with the EU, Niger entered into a direct military agreement with the Russian Ministry of Defense, which now runs Wagner (now renamed the African Corps) after the death of its founder Prighozin. According to the estimates announced by the Council on Foreign Relations study center last May, there are around 5 thousand Russian contractors on the African continent. A number that will increase. Putin’s support offers guarantees to African countries north and south of the Sahara that want to quickly break free from the influence of former colonial powers that have never stopped collecting resources from that region. The Kremlin’s cooperation agreements with countries in the Sahel strengthen the coup governments and maintain their “harmony” with the European bloc. In return, the Russian President gains valuable alliances in access to resources and commercial outlets for his goods, such as food, as evidenced by African countries’ votes at the United Nations on the war in Ukraine.
Civilians falling into the trap of jihadists
Despite the change of military guard, Islamist rebel groups continue to control much of the region to extract its resources at the expense of the population. “Civilians are often caught in the middle,” Paul Stronski, a researcher specializing in Russian relations at the Carnegie Research Center, wrote a year ago. “Despite longstanding international and regional efforts to combat the insurgents, these groups continue to expand their presence in the region. Conventional counterterrorism campaigns have failed to stop the violence,” Stronski emphasized, and the situation does not appear to have improved. In January 2023, the figures of the humanitarian crisis were already very serious. According to estimates by the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (Unowas), approximately 2.7 million people were displaced and 1.6 million children were malnourished due to armed conflict. On January 12, Unowas president Leonardo Santos Simìo submitted his final report to the UN Security Council. In his speech, touching on the security and humanitarian situation, especially in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Simìo said: “Despite marginal improvements in some regions, the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in the entire Central Sahel region increased by 8.34 percent compared to 2022, “We reached 5 million people.”
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
