Russian diplomats rushed to Central Africa and West Asia few hours after Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin attempted an armed rebellion against the Russian Federation on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal said in a report.
Diplomats rushed to Mali and Syria to assure the governments there that Kremlin still controls the government. It should be noted that Russia is deeply involved in both Malian and Syrian affairs through Wagner.
Wagner forces are heavily involved in Mali and Central African Republic as it has joined hands with the new military junta in Mali and the CAR government in their battle against Islamist militants, replacing long-time player France.
Russian mining firm M Invest, allegedly owned by Prigozhin, also happens to be one of Africa’s biggest gold producers.
The group has also helped Russia expand its economic footprint in Mali, Sudan, CAR and Libya as well as these nations are rich in diamonds, gold, oil and uranium.
However, following the groups entry into Mali and other adjoining nations allegations of widespread human rights abuses have been surfaced. The group is accused of killing 500 civilians in the Malian town of Moura in April 2022.
Prigozhin also runs online troll farms there in order to influence debate in Africa.
The mercenary group founded by the former Kremlin caterer Prigozhin was also instrumental in Syria. It helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad keep control of the oil and gas fields in return for slice of the profits. They have on several occasions fought against American soldiers in Syria as well.
The Wall Street Journal said that Kremlin diplomats assured Assad that Wagner will continue to operate in Syria but not independently.
Later on Wednesday, West Asia-based news outlets reported that Russian military police in Syria conducted raids on Wagner mercenary bases in the country.
The same message was also conveyed to Malian leader and leaders of CAR. CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra even uses Wagner bodyguards instead of soldiers from his own country.
Wagner forces have played a key role in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war and were also instrumental helping anti-Ukrainian forces during the 2014 Euromaidan events. They were also key in the capture of Bakhmut.
