Russian mercenaries in Africa have been linked to massacres in which several hundred civilians have died, raising new fears about the impact of Moscow’s intensifying interventions on the stability and security of countries across the continent.
Western officials have so far largely steered clear of naming the perpetrators of killings but witnesses, local community leaders, diplomats and local analysts blamed many of the deaths on fighters deployed by the Wagner Group, a network of private companies run by a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
The incidents have occurred in Mali, the strategic west African country where Wagner arrived last year after striking a deal with its new military rulers.
By far the most serious incident occurred in March when the Wagner Group is alleged to have been involved in a massacre in Moura, a village controlled by Islamist extremists, where between 350 and 380 men were killed over a four-day period.
Wagner has been active in a dozen countries across Africa, and it has been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses on the continent. A Human Rights Watch report alleged that forces in the Central African Republic identified as Russian appear to have killed and tortured civilians since 2019, echoing similar findings from a group of UN experts last year. The group has also taken part in the invasion of Ukraine and been linked to atrocities there.
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Le journal du peintre 2 