Although France has its share of the blame in what is happening in the Sahel, Russia’s mercenaries are not any better. African countries will have to work hard to be self-reliant on security matters. This article by Carley Petesch and Gerald Imray is published by Associated Press. Here is an excerpt:

When abuses were reported in recent weeks in Mali — fake graves designed to discredit French forces; a massacre of some 300 people, mostly civilians — all evidence pointed to the shadowy mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group.

Even before these feared professional soldiers joined the assault on Ukraine, Russia had deployed them to under-the-radar military operations across at least half a dozen African countries. Their aim: to further President Vladimir Putin’s global ambitions, and to undermine democracy.

The Wagner Group passes itself off as a private military contractor and the Kremlin denies any connection to it or even, sometimes, that it exists.

Find more information on this article here.