BAMAKO, Mali — The Kremlin-backed Wagner Group announced Friday that it is pulling out of Mali after more than three years of combat operations against Islamist insurgents, signaling a shift in Russia’s security presence in the Sahel. Despite Wagner’s withdrawal, Russian military influence in the region will continue through the Africa Corps, a state-controlled paramilitary force overseen by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Mission accomplished. Private Military Company Wagner returns home,” the group stated via its Telegram channel, claiming it had secured Mali’s regional capitals, expelled militants, and eliminated their leaders. Wagner operatives have operated in the West African country since late 2021, following a military coup that led to the exit of French troops and international peacekeepers.
The group’s withdrawal follows a series of battlefield setbacks, including heavy losses during recent attacks by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida-linked group. In a particularly deadly assault last week, dozens of Malian soldiers were killed at a central military base.
Russia’s Africa Corps, now positioned as Moscow’s primary paramilitary instrument in Africa, stated that Wagner’s exit would not alter Russia’s continued military cooperation with Mali. “The Russian contingent will remain,” Africa Corps said Friday, confirming its intent to fill the vacuum left by Wagner.
Wagner’s presence in Mali had long drawn scrutiny from rights groups and the international community. In recent months, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch documented allegations of summary executions and forced disappearances attributed to both Wagner fighters and Malian forces. At least 32 civilians were reportedly killed over an eight-month period, according to a December 2024 report by Human Rights Watch.
Russia’s expanding influence in the Sahel is part of a broader effort to replace waning Western involvement. Initially facilitated through Wagner, that strategy has shifted since the 2023 death of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash following his short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin. Since then, Moscow has sought to consolidate control over paramilitary operations under its defense ministry, revamping the Africa Corps as a more structured, state-run alternative to the Wagner model.
Security analysts say Moscow is in talks with Malian authorities to transfer Wagner fighters into the Africa Corps ranks and expand the new unit’s role in the country. “Since Prigozhin’s death, Russia has moved to place Wagner under formal military command,” said Beverly Ochieng, a Sahel analyst at Control Risks. “Africa Corps is Moscow’s way to retain its paramilitary footprint in former Wagner strongholds.”
Approximately 2,000 Russian mercenaries are believed to remain in Mali, although it remains unclear how many belong to Wagner and how many have already transitioned to Africa Corps, according to U.S. officials.
Analysts suggest that the Africa Corps’ presence will emphasize training, logistics, and equipment provision rather than direct combat. “Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services,” said Ulf Laessing, who leads the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. “They fight less than the ‘Rambo-type’ Wagner mercenaries.”
The sudden departure of Wagner without a coordinated announcement from Mali’s government hints at possible internal tensions, said Rida Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South. “This could point to a new framework for Russian presence in the country,” he said.
The continued instability and violence in Mali, coupled with the evolving nature of Russian involvement, underscore the region’s fragile security situation and the growing complexity of foreign military engagement.
