Putin put an eye on Africa: Wagner PVC goes from the continent but she has a replacement

To spread: Russia officially promotes a new paramilitary structure in Africa - the African Corps, which is replaced by a private military company (PVC) "Wagner". The organization created under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation actually becomes a successor to Wagner, which for many years provided the military presence of Moscow in Central Africa.

Moscow seeks to get rid of Wagner's negative heritage after Yevgeny Prigogine's rebellion in June 2023 and his death in a plane crash in August of that year. According to CNN, the Kremlin's new project is positioned as an officially controlled structure, which should reduce the risks of accusations of human rights violations and strengthen the legitimacy of Russian operations in Africa.

In recent years, Wagner PEC has participated in hostilities in the Mali and Central African Republic (king), where she performed the task of combating the rebels, the protection of power and the support of the regime. However, the organization was severely criticized by the West and international structures that accused it of violations of human rights, extrajudicial executions and the exploitation of natural resources.

According to Western Media, Russia suggested that the government replace the "Wagner" by the African Corps, as well as pay for the services of a new structure directly. At the same time in the small fighters of the corps already operate in conjunction with the local military, and its presence is also recorded in Niger and Burkina-Faso.

According to the analyst of ACLED Heni Nsaibia, it is a strategic rebranding of Moscow: the rejection of mercenary rhetoric and the transfer of foreign military operations into a more official channel. In this case, the composition of the building is formed mainly of elite Russian commanders and former Wagner fighters.

"The Kremlin fills in some extent a vacuum formed after the Western troops have been expelled by several sachel governments between 2022 and this year, since anti -Western moods are heard throughout the region," CNN said. The agency's interlocutor notes that such a step will allow the Kremlin: in the meantime, the situation in the region remains extremely unstable.

The UN warns that security in Central Africa is "rapidly deteriorating", and terrorist groups enhance their capabilities through the use of drones, Internet communications and transnational crime. We will remind, fighters of PEC "Wagner", who since 2021 were in small, officially stated that the "mission was fulfilled" and they return home.