Wagner offers a catalogue of services to states in difficulty. In Mali, in the Central African Republic, it protects the power in place, offers military training, even legal advice to rewrite the mining code or the Constitution. In return, the group engages in predation and pays itself from local resources, including gold mines and other minerals. In Sudan, Wagner flourishes in the illegal gold business and remains close to the Rapid Support Forces (FRS) of Mohammed Hamdane Daglo. In Libya, loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, a strongman in the east of the country, “there are a few hundred today to ensure the security of military bases and oil-related infrastructure”, assures AFP Pauline Bax, deputy director of the Africa program at the International Crisis Group. The United States sanctioned Prigojine and classified his group in January as a transnational criminal organization. An independent UN expert has accused the army and its Russian allies of abuses in the Central African Republic. Last week, the UK imposed sanctions on 13 individuals and companies accused of involvement in Wagner abuses, including “executions and torture in Mali and the Central African Republic and threats to peace and security in Sudan”.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS