AFTER their failed coup, there is talk that Wagner is being redirected to Africa, presumably to keep them far away from Russia and the Ukraine war.
But Wagner is no stranger to the Dark Continent. They’ve had a long presence in a few African countries, and are even quite popular there, from what I’ve heard.
Wagner mercenaries have served the governments of Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), and it looks like they will get more work.
After Wagner’s performance in the Ukraine war, I’m guessing they are going to get more clients. Even if they have angered Russia’s Vladimir Putin, an experienced merc is still an experienced merc, and they are always welcomed by powerful people with many enemies.
To understand the situation better, we must remember that Russia’s ties with African countries is an inheritance from its Soviet past. When the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) fell, previously Soviet aligned African governments renewed their relationship with its successor, the Russian Federation, and one of the ways Russia has kept in touch with Africa is through Wagner’s mercenaries.
Through Wagner, Russia has maintained its presence in Africa with minimal expenditure and with a certain level of deniability. But now that Wagner has become a big brand, this presents both opportunity and challenges for Wagner.
As mentioned earlier, a big brand can lead to more clients. If nothing else, Wagner proves that it had the necessary guns to fight in a large war.
On the other hand, Wagner also has tarnished brand, and it’s likely that their clients will have second thoughts about hiring a merc company that had once turned on its employer.
Still, Wagner is famous, and this is true even in Africa from what I know. Wagner’s redeployment into that continent presents a lot of opportunities for its mercenaries and, presumably, more than a few headaches for Western planners./PN
