On one hand, the Russia-Ukraine war has put the West in a tight spot and there’s a growing sense of disillusionment in Africa with the West, on the other. The US along with other major Western powers is facing a huge credibility crisis in Africa. It has recently hosted the US-Africa summit to salvage the situation. However, Russia’s increasing presence in Africa has made things worse for the Biden administration. As a response, the US has come up with a fresh strategy to tame Wagner group. But will it succeed?
US sanctions Russia’s Wagner group
The US government, as per a report, slapped new sanctions on Russia’s Wagner Group on 26 January, putting African nations on notice that working with the Kremlin-linked mercenary group carries “high risks”. In addition, the Biden administration designated the Russian mercenary as a significant “transnational criminal organization” over its actions in combat operations in Ukraine on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.
The US has further warned African countries against working with the Wagner Group, saying that such an association will not help Africa end up in a “Stronger position”. As per a report, recently, it sanctioned people and entities linked to the Russian paramilitary outfit for their role in recruiting prisoners, some of them African, to fight in Ukraine.
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This desperate announcement has come at a time, when Russia’s foreign affairs minister, Sergey Lavrov, visited several African nations, including South Africa, Angola, and Eritrea, as he sought to firm up support for Moscow as the Ukraine war continues.
To this point, the US of late has been struggling to counter the growing presence of the Russian mercenary Wagner group. The Wagner has been a huge threat to Western influence in Africa and has been the cause for the dismantling of many Western military interventions in the continent. For instance, France had to withdraw troops from Mali and Central African Republic after it failed to bring peace and stability to these countries despite years of military intervention. As a reciprocal, both Mali and CAR approached the Wagner group to counter the Jihadist militancy.
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Likewise, after the US-Africa summit and flooding the African continent with promises trying to project the US as the most reliable partner for Africa, the US is finally resorting to veiled threats to arm-twist African countries to not join the Russian camp. Furthermore, the US by putting African countries on notice and saying that working with Wagner Group carries “high risks” is nothing but a play on words and a veiled threat to African countries looking to invite Russia’s Wagner Group for combating their insurgency issues.
Moving forward
Thus, with diminishing Western influence in Africa and losing one country after another to Russia’s Wagner Group, the recent move by the US is nothing but to avoid the countries from falling into the Russian side. Though the US has always used its “carrot and stick approach” for Africa but seems like African countries are done being puppets to the West and want to decide for themselves, as in the end, African problems need African solutions. Furthermore, with regards to the USA trying to retain its position in Africa through sanctioning Wagner Group, no significant changes are going to take place, and it’s time that the Biden administration accepts the reality that the US is losing its ground in Africa.
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