Russian mercenary force
Prigozhin’s heirs: The Wagner group is now called the Afrika Korps
One of the last recordings of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin shortly before his death on August 23, 2023
© Razgruzka Vagnera/UPI Photo/Imago Images
After the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the future of the Wagner group was initially unclear. Now the Russian Ministry of Defense has apparently reorganized the mercenary force and taken it under its wing.
The Russian mercenary group Wagner group folded after the death of their then boss Yevgeny Prigozhin reorganized: As NTV reports, the force under the name Afrika Korps is now directly subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The new group was introduced on November 23, 2023 under the Russian name “Afrikanski Korpus” in a Telegram channel of the same name. In addition to fighting terrorism, the purpose of the founding was to “build infrastructure and solve humanitarian problems as well as epidemiological investigations in certain areas”. It is said that the former Wagner mercenaries will sign new contracts with the new Afrika Korps. Recruitment calls are already underway, some via old Wagner channels.
Wagner’s successor, the Afrika Korps, is shifting focus
This means that the Wagner group is stepping out of the shadow of a private army, said the American Wagner expert John Lechner to NTV. According to Lechner, the innovations have the disadvantage for Russia that the Kremlin will now be directly linked to possible human rights violations by the troops. So far, Moscow has denied any responsibility for this, citing its private status.
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Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov toured several African countries with a delegation at the end of 2023. He concluded pacts with some of them, such as the Sahel states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which are run by military governments. All three withdrew from the West African economic (and defense) alliance Ecowas earlier this year. The Russian focus is obviously shifting away from the mining areas in the Central African Republic and towards the Sahel region.
New name, old face: the role of Jan Marsalek
Despite all the changes, the former Wagner Group apparently also relies on continuity: According to a report in the “Wall Street Journal”, Jan Marsalek, ex-head of the insolvent German scandal group Wirecard, is said to be in charge of setting up a global financial structure for the Afrika Korps. Marsalek is said to have previously had connections to Prigozhin’s Wagner group.
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The future of the Wagner group is initially unclear after its boss Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash in August 2023, which many suspected was an assassination attempt by the Kremlin. Prigozhin fell out of favor with the Russian leadership after an aborted coup attempt in June 2023. He had previously harshly criticized Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in particular. According to British intelligence estimates, there are still around 1,000 fighters from the Russian Wagner private army in Belarus. They were almost certainly training Belarusian soldiers and security forces there. The British Ministry of Defense announced this on Sunday, as reported by the German Press Agency.
Sources: NTVDPA