INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
millions, wrecked lives and livelihoods and destroyed the modest tourist industry
no hope of support from the West
The East African Community sent some soldiers early on, but the alliance quickly soured
Republic of Congo.Moses Kasereka / EPA / TASSIncreasingly, too, a complex web of military and commercial actors from Russia, China, UAE, the
while Russia may have pulled off an impressive PR feat by convincing Congolese citizens that it will be a genuine ally, its mercenary
annexation of Crimea, the Kremlin began frantically pushing to sign military cooperation deals with various African nations
specialists to the country and help maintain its Soviet-made equipment
The Kremlin claimed it inked a similar agreement with Congo earlier this year.Since 2017, Russia has also aggressively expanded its military
presence across Africa through the Wagner Group, a collection of front companies and Russian mercenary outfits formerly owned by the late
designated the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization in January 2023, and the Treasury sanctioned connected individuals and
have been accused of torture, rape, child abduction and summary execution of civilians
Wagner-linked companies are allegedly involved in gold smuggling and illegal mineral exploitation, using Cameroon as a logistics and
that has a complex and protracted conflict that has been unsolvable by other countries by selling security personnel, services and training,
Republic, she said, or straight-up resource extraction, as in Mali
flee a resumption of fighting in North Kivu.Moses Kasereka / EPA / TASSIf a country is in dire enough straits, she said, the population
commanders died when an apparent explosion caused his private jet to crash in August 2023, two months after launching a short-lived mutiny
striking deals with powerful warlords, coup leaders and military juntas in Libya, Burkina Faso, CAR, Mali and Niger to help consolidate
multimillion-dollar business interests in Africa.Wagner/Africa Corp is hardly the first set of state-linked mercenaries to exploit security
out of Africa by independence movements, several scrambled for ways to cling to whatever power they could, fearing that newly independent
The American Erik Prince, formerly of the notorious Blackwater group, was alleged by a UN report to have been discrediting MONUSCO
Horatiu Potra, the Romanian mercenary who openly operates his armed private security firm, Asociatia RALF, in eastern Congo
The armed security operators are officially there as military instructors and to guard key infrastructure like airports
operating inside Congo was brought to international attention this month when U.S
citizen Christian Malanga was shot dead while leading an attempted coup in Kinshasha
remain unclear, but the operation stands as a reminder that, even in 2024, foreign actors are still using armed force to gain control in
Felbab-Brown, co-director of the Africa Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington.And while ideologically opposed
vocally patriotic mercenary leaders and mining investors appear more than happy to work together, forging dangerous alliances in spite of,
As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the
This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.We, the journalists
of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced
Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken
But we need your help to continue our critical mission.Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference
If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2
It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent
you one reminder email a month from now
For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy.
