The Wagner Group has officially ended its role in Mali, where it had been active since 2021. Its groups will be integrated into the "Africa Corps," which is also linked to Russia, diplomatic and security sources confirmed Sunday.
Following two coups in 2020 and 2021 and the rise to power of a military junta led by General Assimi Goita, Mali broke its alliance with former colonial power France and pivoted politically and militarily to Russia.
A diplomatic source in the Sahel region told AFP, "Officially, Wagner is ending its presence in Mali. But the Africa Corps is taking over."
A message on a Telegram account linked to the Russian group read, "Mission accomplished. The Wagner Group is returning home."
The diplomatic source emphasized that "the Kremlin is still calling the shots," explaining that "the majority of Wagner's members in Mali, who are Russian, will be integrated into the Africa Corps and remain in the main cities of the northern regions and Bamako."
Mali has not officially confirmed the deployment of the Wagner Group mercenaries on its territory, but it has acknowledged requesting advisory assistance from Russia.
A Malian security source told AFP on Sunday, "Wagner yesterday or the Africa Corps today. The party we communicate with remains the same: the central authority in Russia."
A Malian military source confirmed continued cooperation with Russia "with or without Wagner," adding, "Russia remains our strategic partner in military cooperation."
Following the death of its leader, Sergei Prigozhin, in August 2023 in a plane crash near Moscow, Wagner, once considered the most prominent Russian mercenary group, was dismantled.
Moscow had expanded its influence in Africa by deploying Wagner Group mercenaries since the first decade of the millennium. After Prigozhin's failed rebellion against the leadership in Moscow in June 2023 and the group's reorganization under the Kremlin's umbrella, its forces on the continent became known as the "Africa Corps
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