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Wagner's Prigozhin Issues Recruiting Video From Africa

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023 - 09:45 AM

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's Wagner private military company, has popped up in Africa, and issued his first full video address to the public since the mutiny events of June 23-24.

While he didn't confirm his precise whereabouts, he references the following in the video clip: "The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa - more free. Justice and happiness - for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS and Al-Qaeda and other bandits," Prigozhin said as cited in Reuters.

It appears to be a recruiting video, given he said the group is in the process of bolstering its ranks and "will fulfil the tasks that were set." A telephone number for Wagner offices is presented in the Russian mercenary outfit's postings of the video on social media. 

Prigozhin's legal fate and standing with the Kremlin is still unclear. But what is clear is that he has been seen inside Russia despite reports that he was "exiled" (at least initially) to Belarus. Late last month he was spotted at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, which was hosted by President Vladimir Putin.

After weeks ago there was a coup in Niger, generally seen as an anti-US move, a big question which has remained is whether Wagner would be invited in by the junta leaders. The West has worried that Russia will use the political instability to make further inroads to central and west Africa.

Currently, Wagner is believed most active in places like Libya, Mali, and Sudan, and the Central African Republic (CAR). Secretary of State Antony Blinken early this month accused Wagner group of seeking to take advantage of the instability in Niger. "I think what happened, and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but… they tried to take advantage of it," he recently told BBC. 

Alarmingly, while both French and American troops are in the region, Wagner mercenaries are just next door from Niger in Mali. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had positively celebrated the coup immediately after, and blasted past French and Western colonialism in Africa:

In a long message posted to social media, Prigozhin blamed the situation in Niger on the legacy of colonialism and alleged, without evidence, that Western nations were sponsoring terrorist groups in the country. Niger was once a French colony and, before this week’s putsch, it had been one of the few democracies in the region.

But those few African leaders who are currently standing with Niger's coup leaders warn of NATO influence instead, remembering the disastrous legacy of US-NATO intervention in Libya in 2011, which served to proliferate terrorism and foreign arms across the region.

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