In an interview, Captain Traore stated that if there was a need, Russian troops would be deployed to Burkina Faso, and just a few days after, news came that Russia had sent 100 military personnel to Burkina Faso. However, there was something different about these troops. The troops were not from the Russian army but from a newly created military arm of the Russian Defense Ministry called the Russian Africa Corps. This deployment by Russians represents the first significant deployment of Russian troops to Burkina Faso and comes as Burkina Faso seeks to diversify its international allies after expelling French troops in early 2023, following the example of neighboring Mali, where Russian Wagner operatives have been active. According to the Telegram Channel of the Africa Corps, the troops deployed to Burkina Faso would provide security not just for Captain Traore but also for the Burkinabe people. It was also revealed that these military experts” will also “provide training to Burkinabe troops and conduct patrols in high-risk zones. So, what exactly is the Russian Africa Corps and what does their presence mean in Burkina Faso and Africa as a whole? Let’s find out in this video.

The famous Russian mercenary group Wagner has been the major footprint of Russian defense in Africa. This paramilitary contractor has established its presence in several African countries including the Central African Republic, Libya, and Mali. To an extent, this group has had more success in dealing with insecurity in African countries that have been plagued with insecurity such as Mali. If you recall, the Wagner group was instrumental in recovering Kidal, a city in northern Mali that had been in the hands of the Tuareg rebels, something that the French forces that had been in the country for ten years could not do. However, despite their successes in several missions, this mercenary group has been touted by the media as the most dangerous mercenary group in the world, responsible for a number of human rights abuses.

The United States, France, and several number of Western countries have all warned African countries partnering with Wagner that they are making a big mistake because Wagner has a history of indiscriminately killing civilians and plundering natural resources from its host countries. But that’s just hypocrisy on their part because they are no different. The fact is there might actually be cases where Wagner committed the crimes they have been accused of but because the West wants to try and reduce Russian influence in Africa, it used Western media to blow up the magnitude of the crimes. Meanwhile, the West’s actions in Africa are even worse than that of Wagner.

Now, in August 2023, the infamous mercenary organization’s founders, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, were killed in a plane crash, two months after leading Wagner fighters in a march on Moscow to attempt a mutiny against the country’s defense forces. After their death, the future of the group was shrouded in uncertainty until the Russian government decided to take charge of the group and rebrand it into what is now called the Russian Africa Corp. In contrast to Wagner, the Africa Corp will now be directly subordinate to Russia’s Defense Ministry. According to reports, Africa Corps has been subsuming operations in Mali and Libya for several months, and negotiations to establish a Russian military base in the CAR are reportedly underway. Analysts at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw believe new units will likely be deployed across the Sahel states, the CAR and Libya, though contracts with local governments will dictate the scope of the group’s activities.

Russia’s move to create the Africa Corps can be analysed from two possibly overlapping perspectives. First, by controlling the Africa Corps, it’s possible that the Russian government could be trying to avoid past mistakes. Wagner’s autonomy and power led to a supremacy battle between Prigozhin and senior Russian defence officials, which boiled over in an unsuccessful insurrection that saw Wagner soldiers marching on Moscow in June 2023. Secondly, aligning Africa Corps’ operations with Russia’s foreign policy, security interests and international commitments could be part of the country’s long-term military strategy in Africa. As a unit reporting to the Defence Ministry, Africa Corps could theoretically be held accountable by Russia for violations committed during military operations.

One thing you should understand is that the newly created Russian Africa Corps does not form part of the Russian Armed Forces. Instead, the Africa Corps consists of former Wagner mercenaries and volunteers which it began to recruit in December 2023. The formation of the Africa Corps under the umbrella of the Russian defence ministry indicates that an effort is underway to put things back in order after the dismantling of the Wagner Group, as the Corps is set to take over its operations. The Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov oversaw the creation of the Africa Corps, which is expected to be fufully completed by this summer and according to the CES, the arrival of 100 Africa Corps personnel in Burkina Faso signals “both an expansion and the formalization of the Kremlin’s military presence in the Sahel region,” a cause that will be furthered by the installation of a military base in Central Africa Republic.

Prior to the deployment of troops in Burkina Faso, Russian Deputy Minister Yevkurov made several trips to Africa to fill the security vacuum opened up by the withdrawal of French troops from many of the country’s former colonies in recent years, the same period that Moscow opened its first embassy in Ouagadougou for more than three decades. When the troops arrived in Burkina Faso, supporters of the junta rejoiced at the arrival of the soldiers. Nestor Podasse, leader of a movement close to the junta, stated that “They are here to train our men for handling weapons which the Burkinabe state has ordered. Naturally, they have come to train them,” Even for many people who have no ties to the junta, or who might even be opposed to the military dictatorship, the arrival of the Russian soldiers comes as a relief because of the insecurity which had continued to deteriorate despite the presence of French forces. However, despite the fact that the Burkinabe people and its government welcome the presence of the newly created Russian units, some analysts believe that the Russian government has an ulterior motive.

These analysts believe that the presence of Africa Corps in Burkina Faso and other African countries is primarily to serve and expand the Kremlin’s military, political and economic footprint. According to French military analyst General Dominique Trinquand, “The interventions of Russian services, be it in Niger, Mali or Burkina Faso, first and foremost serve the purpose of protecting the regimes and only to a lesser degree to fight against jihadists. Freddie Egesa, a security analyst based in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, also stated that like the Wagner Group before it, the Africa Corps’ interests on the continent are financial and political. Russia is keen to maintain foreign influence through military interventions, which also serves to safeguard its commercial business interests,” he said.

Another political analyst from Rwanda, Louis Gitinywa noted that “t would be naive to think that Russia has a very legitimate concern about Africa or about its people or about their development,” He said that the Russians are clearly pursuing and defending their own national interests, and It doesn’t matter what they are putting on the table. According to him, the African continent cannot rely on foreign powers to maintain national security and only reliable partnership is by African countries trying to walk hand in hand in order to push their national interests.” Aside from these, some analysts also believe that the presence of the Africa Corps in the continent would allow the Kremlin to consolidate control of Wagner’s business network in Africa, including potentially lucrative mining interests.

Now, aside from the concerns of African political analysts, the international community and the West has also expressed concern about the presence of the Africa Corp in Burkina Faso and other African countries. According to Russian historian, Filatova, partnership between Russia and West African nations may bring about other important political gains for Putin, which could echo much farther. Filatova argued that in the UN General Assembly, and potentially even in the Security Council, “the Sahel countries could vote for Russia and inspire other African countries to follow.” In other words, Putin’s growing influence in the Sahel may not just be about the region itself — even though Russia continues to have economic interests in the Sahel’s vast mineral resources. The United States is also concerned about the Russian forces. Molly Phee, the US State Department’s top Africa official, expressed concern that Russia may succeed in striking a deal on a military presence in Niger, where the US has a major drone base. According to her “If they chose to have a partnership with countries like Russia, that would be very complicated. We hope they make the right decision, she added. For the US the right decision will be for Niger to reject the deal.

Now, the question is “What is Russia’s true motive in Africa? Is the government of Russia truly interested in an equal partnership with African countries in terms of security or it’s all just a ploy to expand their influence in Africa? Should Captain Traore be wary of it’s relations with Russia?
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