Russia has developed a complex network of influence in Libya through the Wagner group and will likely keep using private military actors to maintain its leverage. The two men reportedly discussed the future role of the Wagner Private Military Company in the country, and more broadly, on the African continent. Moscow needs the Wagner group not only for strategic reasons, but primarily for economic ones. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took the first step toward assimilating Wagner into the Russian military shortly after the attempted mutiny by Prigozhin and his men in June. Mr. Lavrov stated that the Wagner group would continue to operate in the Central African Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as in Libya.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 02, 2023 09:08 UTC