Russia has been outsourcing activities in Africa to Wagner since 2014. On the security front, Wagner fighters have been deployed alongside the national armies of Libya, the Central African Republic and Mali. “Wagner is the vehicle of Russian neocolonialism and there is no reason for it to stop,” said Joseph Bendounga, an opposition politician in the Central African Republic. “The Kremlin has no intention of surrendering Prigozhin’s positions in Africa,” said Peter Rough, analyst at the Hudson Institute. “Wagner is still the only option.” But Fidele Gouandjika, special advisor to Central African President Faustin Archange Touadera, was unruffled by the recent dramatic developments.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 25, 2023 15:31 UTC