1/10 How
#Wagner
’s crushing defeat in
#Mali
could shape the future of
#Russia
’s presence in
#Africa
👇
This weekend, Wagner mercenaries and Malian soldiers were ambushed by
#Azawad
soldiers in the northern Mali, near the Algerian border. Around 80 Russian mercenaries were killed.
1/3 🚨
#Wagner
helicopter crash in the Central African Republic
A Gazelle helicopter crashed in the North of
#CAR
, near the border with
#Chad
, last week. According to our source, 5 mercenaries were on board. 2 of them died and 3 of them were transported to the hospital.
🧵1/10 Wagner’s column in
#Mali
–from hunter to prey?
In the last few weeks, everyone has been speculating about the true purpose of
#Wagner
’s column headed to
#Tinzawaten
. Recent news suggest that Wagner is having huge problems, possibly facing a new obliteration of their convoy.
🧵
#Wagner
in
#Mali
– End of an era?
1/7 Wagner supposedly retrieved the bodies of their comrades in
#Tinzawaten
. This might be the last chapter of their saga in Mali. Indeed, their relations with the
@DirpaFa
have deteriorated and the
#AfricaCorps
should replace them soon.👇
🚨1/4 Huge blow to
#Wagner
in
#Mali
:
According to our information, about 100 of the 140 passengers of the crashed plane in Gao were Wagner mercenaries. The plane also carried military equipment. These losses will have severe consequences for Wagner operations in the region.
#Mali
🇲🇱 - The crashed Il-76 was recently registered as TZ-98T acc. to sources, previously used by
#Wagner
under a different reg.
@AFP
: The plane had been "overloaded" and used by the FAMa & their allies, Wagner. Many victims are feared, "white survivors" were flown out of
#Gao
.
🧵1/7 Recently,
#SADAT
has been gaining traction in
#Africa
. Since its foundation, The PMC has been used as a tool of Turkish influence by
#Erdogan
. Although SADAT has been cooperating with
#Wagner
in Mali, tensions between the two PMCs could arise.
🧵1/6 Violent clashes in the Central African Republic
Since the beginning of September, several violent encounters between
#Wagner
mercenaries and rebels have broken out in the northern parts of CAR, where rebels have been gaining ground.👇
🧵1/3 On August 19, a
#Wagner
mercenary killed a Malian soldier by shooting in his head in
#Kidal
in the north of the
#Mali
.
Following this event an escalation of violence between mercenaries and soldier provoked death and wounded on both side.
🧵1/6 In the past few days, rumors about a second battle for
#Tinzawaten
have been circulating on social media. Several posts indicate that
#Wagner
’s "revenge" is coming. Wagner also confirmed that the
#AfricaCorps
should enter Kidal on September 15.
👇
According to a local witness,
#Wagner
has left Hombori in
#Mali
on 19/11.
#Jihadists
have immediately taken control of the locality. They are actively recruiting and giving sermons.
This further displays the inefficiency of the
#PMC
in the fight against
#JNIM
.
🚨 Massive explosion and fire in the Intahaka gold mine in
#Mali
. This mine, which is located around 50km West of Gao, is under
#Wagner
’s control since February 2024.
#Mali
🇲🇱
Une publicité remerciant la
#Russie
(donc
#Wagner
) pour son soutien circule à
#Bamako
, alors que la violence contre les civils s'est intensifiée en 2023 et que les groupes terorristes reprennent du terrain.
Tensions between
#WagnerGroup
and the
#FAMA
on the rise in the
#Gossi
region. The military base is affected by
#water
shortage and the
#Russians
are monopolizing the resource. No violence reported yet but a growing distrust between the "partners".
A photo of a column of military vehicles in
#Mali
was posted on Telegram by a channel affiliated to
#Wagner
. Could this be the column heading north (to seek revenge for the ambush in
#Tinzawaten
) everybody is talking about?
Today, we publish the first part of our cartography on Russian influence in
#Africa
, focusing on Wagner's "Lobaye Invest".
Help us complete the list of
#Wagner
bosses in African states if you have more information!
#OSINT
@alleyesonwagner
@casusbellintel
More to come tomorrow!
C'est confirmé ! Des mercenaires
#Wagner
ont été aperçus à Bobo-Dioulasso au
#BurkinaFaso
, à côté d'un laboratoire médical. C'est très inquiétant de les voir se promener dans un endroit où on travaille sur des maladies très infectieuses et dangereuses. Que font-ils là ?
5/10 The loss of ~80 experienced fighters (some of them were veterans from the war in
#Ukraine
) could take years to replace. The loss of an MI-24 helicopter and, to a lesser extent, several armored vehicles, is also problematic.
🧵1/6 From cooperation to contempt - the true face of
#Wagner
in
#Africa
Wagner’s recent setbacks have shown that they are struggling. Tensions between the Russian PMC and
#Mali
are high and their relations at an all-time low. Is cooperation with the
@DirpaFa
still possible? 👇
🕵️ What is the
#AfricaCorps
? Who is behind it? What will happen to
#Wagner
? What about the growing rivalry between
#China
and
#Russia
in
#Africa
? All these questions (and more) are answered in our latest article!
Reminder: This isn't the first time that the
#Wagner
group and
@FAMa_DIRPA
soldiers attack Mauritanians. In 2022, 29 citizens of
#Mauritania
were killed by Russian mercenaries in the Segou region.
According to different social media accounts, Russian Africa Corps / Wagner forces entered the village of Médala in Mauritania, shot two people and abducted others.
7/10 This debacle has already brought tensions between
#Wagner
and Malian soldiers to the surface. When asked by a Azawad soldier why Malian soldiers were killing civilians, a captured Malian fighter explained that only Wagner mercenaries were responsible of such crimes.
1/4🧵Clashes between
#Wagner
mercenaries and armed groups in the north of the Central African Republic.
On the 12, 13 and 14 March, Wagner and Central African soldiers attacked several villages near the border, forcing gold miners to flee to
#Chad
.
🚨1/4
#Wagner
has launched a new recruitment campaign on Facebook, trying to lure foreigners to fight for
#Russia
in
#Ukraine
. The Russian MoD is using PMCs as proxies to recruit these foreign fighters. African citizens are specifically targeted in these "ads".
10/10 If this new column suffers the same fate as the former one, the consequences would be catastrophic for
#Wagner
's credibility as a reliable force. It would also raise questions about
#AfricaCorps
military capacity and harm
#Russia
's reputation as a security partner.
2/3 The crash site is guarded by several
#Wagner
mercenaries. The Russian PMC already lost one of their Gazelle helicopters in 2021. Another one of Wagner's helicopters (MI8, MI24?) is currently being repaired after being damaged by rebels.
Nouveaux massacres à Ouahigouya, dans le nord du
#BurkinaFaso
. Plusieurs sources sur les réseaux sociaux font état d'une attaque des forces armées burkinabè.
2/10
#Wagner
lost several vehicles and a MI-24 helicopter. According to several sources, famous Wagner mercenaries such as Anton Elizarov (who led Wagner’s assault on Bakhmut) and Nikita Fedyanin (Admin of the TG channel GreyZone) were supposedly killed.
🧵Wagner's dangerous gamble
1/6 Several sources mention that a column of military vehicles filled with
#Wagner
mercenaries and Malian soldiers left
#Gao
. This column is likely heading to northern
#Mali
, preparing a retaliatory strike for the ambush near
#Tinzaouaten
last month.👇
10/10 How long will the Sahelian juntas support the presence of mercenaries who exploit their country's wealth, are incapable of ensuring their territorial integrity and are already highly contested within the civilian population?
🧵 TOP 10
#Wagner
applicants
Although we make perfectly clear that we are
#humanitarians
raising awareness about Wagner’s
#crimes
, some people don’t bother reading our website and send us their application to JOIN the
#PMC
. These are the best applications we have received so far!
3/3
#Wagner
has suffered Important losses in
#CAR
recently. The temporary loss of one helicopter and the definitive loss of the Gazelle could affect their combat capabilities in the the Central African Republic even further.
The Russian PMC "Bear" will leave
#Africa
and return to
#Crimea
due to
#Russia
's recent struggles in their war against
#Ukraine
. This was announced on Telegram by their leader.
🚨 Aujourd’hui, nous publions une vidéo résumant notre enquête sur le
#GPCI
, un faux média financé par
#Wagner
. La désinformation répandue par cette organisation a des effets dévastateurs en
#Afrique
:
N’hésitez pas à la partager !
🧵 1/4 What is
#Wagner
's trick to bring in military equipment from
#Russia
to the Central African Republic despite the no-fly list for Russian aircraft in many countries? 👇
Exactions de
#Wagner
contre des bergers dans le centre du
#Mali
. Le 21/09, 14 bergers ont été exécutés par les mercenaires russes. Ils avaient entre 12 et 18 ans. Les tensions Wagner/bergers avaient déjà été évoquées dans notre précédent thread.
Reports of
#Wagner
replacing
#Mali
security forces in Bandiagara (
#Mopti
region) with following orders to population : when a
#mercenary
convoy passes, drivers are to stop their vehicules and pedestrians are forbidden to look up. Infringents to be treated as
#terrorists
.
1/5🧵Russian mercenaries flaunting their weapons on social media - Recent pictures and videos published by
#Wagner
on Telegram reveal some of the military equipment used by the PMC in the Central African Republic.
#Russia
#Africa
🧵 The military cooperation between
#Russia
and
#BurkinaFaso
is expanding. 👇
1/5 On the 4th and 5th December, a Russian Ilyushin-76 made two trips from
#Timbuktu
to
#Ouagadougou
. The military transport plane unloaded 6 armored vehicles in total.
1/4
#Wagner
supports rebellion in
#Sudan
: The PMC uses its base areas in CAR to provide logistical support to the rebels of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
9/10 Several African states with a significant Russian mercenary presence (
#Niger
,
#BurkinaFaso
, Central African Republic) have every reason to be worried. This crushing blow has proven
#Wagner
’s inability to restore peace and defeat the enemies of the juntas they working for.
Spotted in
#Bangui
:
#Wagner
is bringing in heavy mining equipment to the Central African Republic to exploit local gold mines.
The equipment was imported from
#Russia
and brought to CAR through the port of Douala, in
#Cameroon
.
🧵
#Russia
/
#Sudan
– Towards a strategic shift?
1/10 Recently, Russia has established closer ties with the SAF of General Al-Buhran, while
#Wagner
accused the RSF of war crimes for the 1st time. These elements seem to indicate a change of Moscow's political strategy in Sudan.
Something a little different today :
As we continue to monitor
#Wagner
’s activities around the world, we keep receiving
#threats
from
#Russian
sympathizers and
#trolls
. Here’s a small glimpse of the kind of messages we receive daily.
We will have another
#surprise
for you soon !
#Wagner
carried out another attack in the Central African Republic, killing 7 civilians before looting an entire village and setting it on fire.
The attack happened in the village of Mamoun, near the border with
#Chad
, where violent incidents have become more frequent recently.
4/10 Secondly, these losses will be hard to replace for the Russian PMC.
#Wagner
and the
#AfricanCorps
have been continuously posting recruitment offers in the last months, but are still struggling to find adequate candidates for their mercenary activities in
#Africa
.
8/10 Tensions between the Russian and Malian leaderships also emerged. Wagner apparently criticized the Malian leaders for refusing to send a Bayraktar TB2 drone in support of their operation. The Malian junta apparently rejected the Russian request because of a sandstorm.
🧵 La coopération militaire entre la
#Russie
et le
#BurkinaFaso
s'intensifie. 👇
1/5 Les 4 et 5 décembre, un Ilyushin-76 russe a effectué deux allers-retours entre
#Tombouctou
et
#Ouagadougou
. L'avion de transport militaire a pu débarquer 6 véhicules blindés au total.
1/ The dissension between
#Wagnergroup
and the Russian Authorities continues to intensify.
Strict instructions are given to Russian news agencies, civilian and military officials on how to communicate about
#Prigozhin
and
#WagnerPMC
.
🧵1/5 Arrival of Turkish mercenaries (
#SADAT
) in
#BurkinaFaso
: New competition for
#Wagner
and Putin’s
#AfricanCorps
?
According to our source, these mercenaries, which were originally fighting for General
#Haftar
in
#Libya
, have now arrived in Burkina Faso.
🧵 1/6 New
#Wagner
crimes in Northern
#Mali
. On January 19 and 20, one day after a
#JNIM
terrorist attack, Russian mercenaries carried out punitive expeditions which resulted in numerous civilian casualties.
Officials from
#BurkinaFaso
or
#Mali
who are inviting
#Wagner
mercenaries to conduct business in their country should be clear that mistreated underpaid prison convicts are unlikely to care about locals well-being and human rights.
#Ukraine
#Russia
#UkraineWar
#Prigozhin
is at home in St-Petersburg:
After meeting with Mathurin Mapouka, Chief of Protocol to the President of the Central African Republic, he met with Justin Tagaugh, Director of the Cameroonian edition of Afrique Media, on which he made several appearances recently.
Another
#WagnerGroup
call for recruitment, posted this time on
#VKontakte
. The volunteers will serve in
#Africa
, in a country with desert and jungle where local temperature is currently 40°. Interesting to note that this description perfectly fits
#BurkinaFaso
.
#WagnerGroup
apparently starts speaking again of recruitment (using word "tourism") for operations in
#Africa
. As a reminder, the
#PMC
stopped recruiting for ops outside
#Ukraine
a few months ago. Is it another sign of an ongoing deployment in
#BurkinaFaso
?
A picture posted yesterday by a small account from
#Niger
shows locals employed by the Russian
#PMC
#RSB
Group, at the side of
#M62
activists. Needs to be cross-checked.
A thread 🧵 on the RSB group, one of
#Wagner
's competitors. 👇
3/10 The column is constantly tracked via satellite imagery. Many photos of the convoy have also been published. Meanwhile,
#Wagner
's enemies wait for the right moment to ambush them. Although the Russian PMC is on the hunt, it seems like they have become the prey...
Although
#Wagner
has a disastrous record in
#Mali
(violence increased by 150% in one year), they claim they can solve
#Niger
's security problems.
But we can see on this map, it will be a major challenge...
#Wagner
and Malian forces abandoned their base in Douma, in the Mopti region. The base is apparently now occupied by the terrorist group
#JNIM
. Hard to say at the moment if this desertion has any connection to
#Wagner
's recent devastating defeat in northern
#Mali
.
#Mali
le
#JNIM
#AQMI
à bien pris la base de
#Douma
, mais n’a pas pris en otages des mercenaires de
#Wagner
, mais il a bien conduit un guet-apens contre un convoi Wagner/FAMa dans la région de
#Mopti
le 29.07 « 4 morts FAMa et 1 Wagner » selon le communiqué
This highlights the level of manpower stress in which the
#PMC
finds itself in
#Ukraine
. Also a clear sign that the mercenaries are not about to try to gain a foothold in
#BurkinaFaso
following the coup, as they are already direly understaffed in
#Mali
.
📌Situation update
#4
-
#Wagner
in
#Mali
1/5 The Malian military junta is entirely dependent on the Russian PMC and would not survive without it. Malian authorities have tried to deny their agreement with Wagner, passing it off as a security partnership with
#Russia
instead.
The
#WAGNERPMC
's presence in
#Sudan
is slowly being confirmed, each day bringing more evidence.
Their pathetic results in
#Mali
and
#Burkina
do not seem to stop their new bosses.
All that money and looting for nothing.
1/n🧵 Foreign fighters of the
#RussianArmy
- long thread!
The presence of fighters from all over the world is the result of massive deceitful recruitment campaigns run by
#Russia
, promising "risk-free work and easy money" to desperate populations.
#UkraineRussiaWar
For the 1 year anniversary of
#BurkinaFaso
's junta, we prepared a little surprise.
Teasing - How does a local African media network (
#GPCI
) financed by
#Wagner
operate?
Like tentacles, Wagner's influence reaches all branches of African civil societies through fake media 👇
1/2 Coups de feu, mercenaires et prostitués – cocktail explosif à
#Bangui
👇
Le 24 décembre, un membre de
#Wagner
aurait tiré sur un militaire centrafricain ayant refusé que des prostitués rendent visite à des mercenaires russes à Bangui.
#Wagner
mercenaries stationed in the Central African Republic were flown to
#Crimea
to train cadets in military first aid. There are still around 1000 Wagner mercenaries in the Central African Republic, which is considered to be the PMC's last major stronghold in
#Africa
.
🧵1/10 Departure of
#Wagner
's troops from
#CAR
#RCA
, what we know:
According to
@jeune_afrique
,
@CorbeauNews
and sources on the ground, 500 to 600 Wagnerites have left the Central African Republic. Numerous flights since Sunday, mainly at night
The bodies of 60 Malian citizen were found in Abeibara (Kidal region -
#Mali
). They were killed by
#Wagner
mercenaries and Malian soldiers. This is another massacre that can be added to the endless list of war crimes committed by the Russian PMC in
#Africa
.
🇲🇱 Au
#Mali
, une soixantaine de corps ont été retrouvés près d’Abeibara, dans la région de Kidal.
► Selon les sources locales jointes par
#RFI
, il s’agit presque exclusivement de civils, tués par l’armée malienne et ses supplétifs du groupe Wagner.
🎧 Précisions David Baché
6/10 Air support is vital for Russian PMCs in the
#Sahel
, as it gives them an important edge over their enemies. Their current capabilities are already limited and this helicopter likely won’t be replaced in the near future, as the Ukrainian conflict takes priority for
#Moscow
.
🧵1/3 Dimitri Sytyi is back in
#Bangui
. The former
#Wagner
boss in the
#CentralAfricanRepublic
was spotted during the ceremony that was held to commemorate Wagner mercenaries on February 23.
Sytyi was forced to flee Bangui after
#Prigozhin
’s failed coup in June 2023.
#drone
After the helmets purchased by
#Wagner
from a Chinese company in defiance of sanctions, and the potential transfer of weapons through Mali, here we have a wonderful way of circumventing
#sanctions
!
#Russia
Thanks to
@OCCRP
🚨 1/9 Will
#Russia
’s "
#AfricaCorps
" replace
#Wagner
?
According to "African Initiative", Moscow’s new
#Africa
Corps will be integrated in the MoD and will be headed by the Deputy Minister Yevkurov. Up to 40k mercenaries could be serving in the new corps.
🧵 1/5 Suite des investigations sur le
#GPCI
: implication de l’Etat burkinabè ?
#Burkina
Selon notre enquête, l’administration burkinabè serait directement impliquée dans les opérations menées par le GPCI, une entreprise de désinformation de
#Wagner
. La preuve en images 👇
#Prigozhin
would have said "As of today, we are approaching the point where the Wagner private military company is ending. And in a short time, Wagner will cease to exist."
How credible is this statement?
🧵 1/6 Nouvelles exactions de
#Wagner
au Nord-
#Mali
. Les 19 et 20 janvier, un jour après une attaque du
#JNIM
, les mercenaires russes ont mené des expéditions punitives qui ont fait de nombreuses victimes civiles.
Today we publish the second part of our cartography on Russia's influence network in
#Africa
, focusing on Russian state-run media (excluding
#Wagner
). Criticism is welcome!
#RussiaAfrica
#OSINT
Last part coming tomorrow!
4/10 This may be
#Wagner
’s last military raid in Mali, as the PMC is being replaced by
#Moscow
’s
#AfricaCorps
at the moment. Until now, it looked like Wagner wanted to follow through with this very risky operation. Did Wagner’s leadership change its mind at the last moment?
⚠️On their official Telegram channel,
#Russia
’s
#AfricanCorps
just admitted that their mercenaries might be redeployed in
#Ukraine
, given the heavy casualties of the
#RussianArmy
in their recent offensives.
2/10 According to our sources, the convoy consists of around 100 vehicles (if we include motorcycles) and more than 400
#Wagner
mercenaries. Although they are heavily armed, the very risky nature of this operation could explain Wagner’s indecisiveness.
🧵1/5
#Mali
: Tebalit, Arlal, Kikara –
#Wagner
continue d’employer des méthodes très brutales pour soumettre la population. Femmes, enfants et personnes âgées font partie des victimes. Les survivants se retrouvent sans rien, leurs possessions sont détruites ou volées.
1/2 Gunshots, mercenaries and prostitutes - explosive cocktail in
#Bangui
👇
On December 24, a member of
#Wagner
reportedly shot at a Central African soldier who had refused to allow prostitutes to visit the Russian mercenaries in Bangui.
Word is circulating on
#Telegram
channels that
#Wagner
funder
#Prigozhin
was in
#Stakhanov
stadium during the shelling and might be dead. It's dangerous to rejoice to soon and we better wait for confirmation but that would be groundbreaking news!
#Donbas
#Ukraine
#Prigozhin
recently announced he will fund a people's militia in
#Belgorod
oblast bordering
#Ukraine
. Billionaire warlord with a private army
#WagnerGroup
, now taking control of an entire region's defense.. Is
#Russia
moving back to feudalism?
A few weeks ago, Viginum exposed a list of Russian disinformation websites publishing pro-Russian narratives: the Pravda ecosystem. 5 such news sites were discovered at the time, but at least 36 countries are now targeted.
#Russia
#RussiaUkraineWar
Another picture of Africans in
#Ukraine
, where they are used as cannon fodder by the
#RussianArmy
. Many of them have already been killed or captured. The Russian MoD is increasingly recruiting outside of
#Russia
to fill its empty ranks.
We often get asked if
#Wagner
really ceased to exist as it got replaced by
#Russia
's
#AfricanCorps
. The answer is NO. Wagner is still very much active in many African countries, actively recruiting new mercenaries with clips like these (from their Telegram channel)...
🧵 1/4 Protest of the military police (gendarmerie) in the Central African Republic
#RCA
.
According to our information, Central African gendarmes in Bossangoa staged a protest to complain about their cooperation with
#Wagner
mercenaries because of their violent methods.
#Russia
's
#AfricaCorps
just landed in
#Africa
.
Awful news for the African civilian population, given the trail of blood that is left behind Russian
#Wagner
mercenaries on this continent. Anyone know in which country they landed?