The military junta has failed to resolve insecurity in much of the country. JNIM and EIGS spread terror everywhere, despite the presence of irregulars. Putin wants to strengthen penetration into the continent also thanks to the new Africa Corps contingent, directly controlled by the Kremlin
By Cornelia Toelgyes– July 1, 2025
Special for Africa ExPress
Cornelia I. Toelgyes
June 30, 2025
Malian coup plotter Assimi Goïta , leader of the transitional military junta and de facto head of state of the former French colony, was received with full honours in Moscow by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a week ago.
According to some media, the plane that took Goïta and his delegation to Russia was even rented by the authorities of Moscow, which absolutely wants to strengthen its presence in Africa. It should be noted that in May Ibrahim Traoré, the putschist president of Burkina Faso, was also received by Putin.
Both visits , first Traoré’s, then Goïta’s, were aimed at expanding cooperation between Moscow and the two Sahel countries, especially in defense and security. But not only that. Putin stressed during the talks with his Malian counterpart that there are good prospects for collaboration in other sectors, such as “natural resources, energy and logistics”.
Unwelcome pressures
The Malian junta had asked Wagner and Russia for help after it kicked out the French and other Western partners because, Flore Berger, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative ’s North Africa and Sahel Observatory , told al Jazeera reporters, “Despite years of aid, the security situation had not improved.”
Furthermore, “Western countries continued to pressure Bamako to return to civilian rule and organize elections. Russia, through Wagner, instead, offered its support without all these conditions. It was seen as a more respectful and reliable partner that would not interfere in their political choices,” the analyst specified.
Only a few days ago, Wagner’s mercenaries – even though their presence has always been denied by the de facto president of Mali – were repatriated to the Russian Federation. And it seems that new soldiers of fortune from Moscow’s Africa Corps have already replaced them in Bamako. They will fight alongside the soldiers of the Malian army (FAMa) as Wagner’s militiamen did. The new Russian contingent will be directly controlled by the Ministry of Defense of Putin’s government. In essence, they are mercenaries who have only changed their uniform. Or rather, only the shield on their arm.
Creation of the Kremlin
Africa Corps is an organization created by the Kremlin and, according to some observers, they will be more active than ever in several African countries, not only in the AES states (Alliance of Sahel States, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali). They are already active in Libya and Equatorial Guinea.
It is still unclear what will happen in the Central African Republic , where Wagner’s men have been in the field for several years. It is not excluded that the mercenaries of the group founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in August 2023, currently still present in the CAR, will be integrated into the new contingent.
Last January, during his last meeting with Faustin-Archange Touadéra, president of the Central African Republic, Putin had made it known that he intended to continue military/security cooperation with Bangui . No further details have been released so far. The Central African leader is currently hospitalized in Brussels. He was evacuated with the utmost urgency on a medical flight on June 21.
Military collaboration
With the arrival of the “new mercenaries” of the Africa Corps , the Defense Minister of Bamako, Sadio Camara, met with his Russian counterpart, Andrei Beloussov, to formalize the new military collaboration.
Meanwhile, however, the jihadist attacks in Mali and throughout the Sahel do not cease. In recent weeks, terrorists have attacked three Malian military camps. They also attacked the city of Timbuktu and placed a homemade explosive device in a Malian-Wagnerian training camp just outside the capital Bamako.
Russian mercenaries have been accused of deliberately killing and disappearing civilians during their campaign against terrorists.
Strong, thanks to the Russians
“The Russian presence has helped the junta to stay in power and to appear strong, but it has not solved the real security problems and has led to greater isolation from the West and international aid,” Berger added.
For a long time, Bamako has considered the Tuaregs of Azawad to be terrorists like the jihadists of JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims , linked to al-Qaeda) and those of EIGS ( Islamic State of the Greater Sahara). With the substantial difference, however, that these rebels are fighting for their own freedom and not to conquer and occupy new territories.
Agreement with Tuareg cancelled
In 2020, since the coup plotters took power, monitoring of the peace agreement between the Azawad rebels and Bamako has been virtually blocked. In addition, the withdrawal of the French Barkhane operation and the departure of the MINUSMA (United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali) peacekeepers have rekindled hostilities. In January 2024, the ruling military junta annulled the Treaty of Algiers signed in 2015 between the Bamako government and the independence groups active mostly in the north of the country.
Ukrainians on the field
FAMa and its Russian allies are mainly focused on hunting down Tuaregs, who last year, during the battle of Tinzaouatène, thanks to information received from GUR (Ukrainian security service), also killed many Russian mercenaries, as well as Malian soldiers.
Cornelia Toelgyes
corneliacit@hotmail.it
Martin Plaut 