Moscow’s mercenaries in Burkina Faso
What is known about Russia’s Afrika Korps
January 27, 2024, 8:32 a.m
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The name is reminiscent of a large unit from the Nazi era: fighters from a new Russian mercenary unit landed in Burkina Faso. The Afrika Korps is apparently intended to take over the activities of the Wagner group on the continent. The association is looking for recruits online.
Moscow is in the process of further expanding its presence on the African continent. In mid-week, Russian military personnel landed in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The Telegram channel Afrikakorps reported that 100 fighters had arrived in Burkina Faso to protect the ruler Ibrahim Traore and the population and published several photos. Another 200 men are expected to follow soon, it was said.
Behind the inconspicuous Telegram account with the historically charged name is a new mercenary formation that is apparently supposed to represent Russia’s foreign policy interests in Africa after the Wagner mercenary group was disempowered. Burkina Faso is ruled by a military junta that expelled French troops in early 2023. Observers assume that the country now wants to align its relations more closely with Russia.
Benghazi meeting during Prigozhin’s death
While the disgraced Wagner Group owes its name to the German composer who shaped the aesthetics of the Third Reich, the term “Afrikakorps” also has a connection to the Nazi era. During the Second World War, a large German unit fought under the same name in North Africa.
According to a report in the French newspaper, the Afrika Korps appeared on social networks “Le Monde” for the first time at the end of autumn. A military blog close to the Russian Defense Ministry published a post on Telegram on November 20 in which Igor Korotchenko, propagandist and editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense, announced the formation of the unit.
The aim of the unit is “large-scale military operations” to support countries “that finally want to free themselves from neo-colonial dependence, eliminate the Western presence and achieve full sovereignty,” said Korotchenko. Russia has been portraying itself as an anti-imperialist power in the Global South for some time.
According to Korotchenko, the formation of the unit dates back to the visit of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to the Libyan port city of Benghazi, where he met with renegade General Khalifa Haftar, who is supported by Russia. Yevkurov, who was tasked by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin with integrating the Wagner mercenaries into Russia’s regular army, visited Benghazi three times between August and December last year, according to Le Monde. The first time was on August 22nd and 24th, at the same time as the fatal crash of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Search for recruits on the Internet
Shortly before Christmas, the Afrika Korps, which says it reports to the Russian Ministry of Defense, announced the start of an extensive recruitment campaign. On Telegram, the unit was looking for specialists such as tank drivers, artillerymen and drone pilots. Former Wagner mercenaries are invited to join the Afrika Korps, he quoted “Business Insider” from a call. You can even continue to wear the Wagner logo.
The Afrika Korps is actually a “rival” of the Wagner group and should take over its African activities and employees, “Le Monde” quoted a US government official as saying. The fact that the unit is sharing recruitment calls on Telegram is an indication that there are staffing concerns. The US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also shares this assessment. The Russian Defense Ministry’s “attempt to directly recruit former Wagner personnel for operations in Africa was largely unsuccessful,” the institute commented late last year.
According to the investigative platform “All Eyes on Wagner” From Russia’s perspective, the new military unit appears to be a better alternative to the Wagner group. “The Afrika Korps is an ideal camouflage for the operational personnel of the Russian Ministry of Defense and its security services, as it has much less autonomy than the Wagner group and a strong leader [wie Prigoschin] does not exist,” says the online platform.