Wagner Group engages in risky business in Sahel as it aids Russia's war

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania -- The government of Mali is losing control of the Sahel region as Russian Wagner Group mercenaries engage in illicit activity that is endangering the region, local observers said.

The mercenary group has established a presence in the Sahel region of western and north-central Africa, which lies between the Sahara desert and the Sudanese savanna, purportedly to "combat terrorism".

But it has become increasingly clear that the group, led by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, has another agenda.

The United States on May 25 sanctioned the head of the Wagner Group in Mali, Ivan Maslov, on grounds that include his support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The Wagner Group may be attempting to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by working through Mali and other countries where it has a foothold," the US Treasury said in a statement.

"The Wagner Group may be seeking to transit material acquisitions for Ukraine through Mali, and is willing to use false paperwork for these transactions," it said.

"There are indications that the Wagner Group has been attempting to purchase military systems from foreign suppliers and to route these weapons through Mali as a third party."

"For example, the Wagner Group employees may have been attempting to work through Mali to acquire warfighting equipment such as mines, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), radar and counterbattery systems for use in Ukraine."

"The United States opposes efforts by any country to assist Russia through the Wagner Group," the statement said.

A destabilising force

The Malian government claims Wagner Group mercenaries are merely "military trainers", but it has become clear to Sahel region observers that these claims are untrue, financial analyst Mohamed Cisse told Al-Mashareq.

Bamako must bear responsibility for the "grave error" of bringing Wagner mercenaries to the Sahel region, he said.

The region is suffering already as a result of the presence of extremists, escalation of ethnic conflicts, spread of famine and increased displacement, and cannot tolerate more tension, Cisse said.

The US sanctions "against the most senior Wagner Group representative in Mali identify and disrupt a key operative supporting the group's global activities", said Treasury official Brian Nelson.

"The Wagner Group's presence on the African continent is a destabilising force for any country that allows for the deployment of the group's resources into their sovereign territory," he said.

The United States also has accused the Wagner Group of fuelling the conflict in Sudan by supplying the paramilitary Rapid Intervention Forces with surface-to-air missiles.

"All governments in the region have the right to build their political and military relations in accordance with the interests of their people, provided this does not have repercussions on the security of an entire region," said Sayed Ahmed Ould Atfil, an analyst of conflicts in the Sahel region.

"But Mali's military rulers have contributed to bringing in sources of subversion -- Wagner elements -- to the Sahel region," he told Al-Mashareq.

"Smuggling arms, drugs and other contraband has always happened in the Sahel region's Sahara desert, as it has been difficult for the region's governments to curb it," Atfil said.

But given the Wagner Group's military experience, he added, its entrance into arms smuggling will make the process more organised and dangerous.

The mercenary group's involvement in smuggling also raises the possibility that Russia will intervene more aggressively in Mali's affairs, "which would put us in an uncontrollable situation", he said.

This may even pave the way for terrorist groups in the region to obtain more advanced and deadly weapons, he added.

Growing danger to the Sahel

Leaders of some Sahel countries, including Mali's neighbour, Niger, have warned of the growing danger of Wagner Group mercenaries in the region.

In a May 26 video interview with Jeune Afrique magazine, Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum warned of the danger the group poses to his country's stability.

Bazoum accused Wagner elements of promoting two military coups in Niger on social media, the latest in February, and of attempting to recruit individuals to serve its agenda in Niger.

"The Wagner Group is seeking to recruit a Trojan horse in our country, and the people it wants to use have been identified and put under surveillance," he said. "We have also arrested a political party leader and will prosecute him soon."

The situation is meanwhile deteriorating in the Sahel region, amid the current insecure conditions and increasing poverty, causing many to move toward the borders of neighbouring countries in search of safety and food.

In a joint report issued May 29, the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) stressed the need for urgent international intervention to help residents of the Sahel region.

The report said food is not sufficiently available in the Sahel region, and also called for help for other countries in similar situations, such as Sudan and Haiti.

Meanwhile, the lack of security has been concerning for peacekeeping forces stationed in northern Mali, prompting some countries to withdraw their forces from the UN's Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission (MINUSMA).

Egypt, the mission's third-largest troop contributor, is one of the countries that are gradually withdrawing its forces from Mali.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the UN and Egypt agreed on a gradual withdrawal of Egypt's combat convoy battalion from MINUSMA as of June, as there is a need to reconfigure resources amid the changing situation in Mali.