The corroding security situation in Africa pushes the people on the continent to the edge of desperation. The long-running Western missions have brought no fruits in terms of defense and security: there are more terrorists in Africa then it used to be in 2013. The crisis hit West Africa the hardest.
France pledged to strengthen the capacity of Sahelian armed forces in their fight against terrorism only to leave Sahel years later with close to no results. Mali Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga rightfully accused France of abandoning the conflict-torn country with its decision to draw down troops in summer 2021.
France’s military involvement in the Sahel is getting more and more hate all over the conflict-ridden region, as the people of Sub-Saharian Africa hold Paris responsible of the deterioration of the security situation. Thus, protestors in Burkina Faso and Niger in November hampered a large French military supply convoy travelling from Ivory Coast to Mali. The protests were once isolated to urban centres now have spread to rural areas.
With the widespread antipathy towards France, Africans are looking for new efficient decisions to this dire situation. And it seems that they have found a new symbol of hope embodied in Russian strongman of Wagner group.
The web-page allegedly affiliated to the PMC – https://join-wagner.com/ – have been circulating social networks. According to the page it is created to recruit new employees to the Wagner Group. It is no surprise, given the fact that recently Wagner has conquered more and more African hearts.
The cars spotted in West African countries are decorated with words of support for Wagner Group, as Wagner symbol is perceived as the one bringing victory and luck. People wear T-Shirts with superhero-looking Wagner soldier on. In the Central African Republic there is a monument to Russian liberators, who wage war against the terrorists.
On social networks in Mali, one can often find images illustrating the work of Malian artists in support of FAMA and Russian allies, like an image that which depicts a Malian National Army (FAMA) soldier and a Russian instructor wearing a Wagner badge on their uniforms and ugly hyenas who represent the enemies of peace.
It was enough for Mali just to announce their deal with the Wagner Group to cause a storm in media and make the terrorists worry. The reputation of the Russian military specialists precedes them. The ordinary people of Mali, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Angola, Mozambique, Niger and Equatorial Guinea put pressure on their government to invite the efficient employees of Wagner to sort out security situation in their countries. Maybe Russian private military specialists are the answer to the modern asymmetric wars.