The Businesses of the Wagner Group in Africa

Yevgeny Prigozhin's men have been operating on the African continent for years, in particular in Sudan, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic. In these countries the group was accused of committing atrocities in combat and against the civilian population.

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Uncertainty is palpable in Bamako, the capital of Mali. Three years ago, a coup d'état marked a departure from Western countries. Many welcomed the Wagner troops.

A Sudanese political expert tells Anadolu Agency "Not even the Russian government controls them," a passerby comments. "What shall we do now? This shows that this army is uncontrollable, that is very dangerous for us.". According to him, in Africa, the Wagner group operates where there are raw materials, and controls the business.

In the span of a few years, the Wagner group has established itself in various African countries in crisis, including Mali. It is said that the military government would have been willing to pay 10 million dollars a month to these mercenaries. But the regime is currently affected by international sanctions. Money is tight and Mali incurred debts to the Wager group. Various sources, however, give indications that the group has gained access to various gold mines in the country.

In the Central African Republic, where after decades of civil war a peace agreement was reached only in February 2019, the strings that the Wagner group pulls go even further. According to various observers, they reach many lucrative areas of the State, including oil exploitation. Since 2018, President Faustin Archange Touadéra himself has been under the protection of Wagner's mercenaries. His advisers have long included men with close contacts with Prigozhin.

In Sudan, even before the current war, international press and political analysts pointed to Wagner group and Yevgeniy Prigozhin as exploiting Sudan's natural resources, and that gold has been transported overland to the Central African Republic (CAR.

The group also have been accused of training Sudanese soldiers or allegedly helping the security forces to oppress and attack protestors during the 2019 pacific revolution in the country.