“The Wagner group is making Russia even bigger on all continents and making Africa even more independent,” Prigozhin said in a post broadcast on Telegram channels related to Russian militants.
In the video, Prigogine does not explicitly state that he is in Africa, but appears in a landscape that looks like an African savanna, confirming that the temperature around him is 50 degrees.
“Justice and happiness for the African people”, declares President Wagner in the messageHe guarantees that his paramilitary group is the “dream” of Islamic State, al Qaeda “and other thugs”.
🚨Evgueni Prigojine reappears in a video and affirms that he is in Africa. “Nous ferons Grandir la Russie sur tous les continents”, declared le chef du groupe de mercenaires russes, #Wagner. #Niger crisis #Mali #centrifric #Southern pic.twitter.com/BWlIaiUZLG
— LSI AFRICA (@lsiafrica) August 21, 2023
The laborer also says that The team is constantly recruiting “real heroes” and “accomplishing assigned tasks”.Without telling who is listening.
However, he promises that “when the motherland calls for it”, elements of the group that has recently been Russia’s main strike force in Ukraine will once again form a “national unity” to defend the country’s interests.
In addition, Prigozhin said the group continues its operations in Africa and Belarus, where it relocated after a failed armed uprising against the Kremlin in June.
The Wagner Group is seen by analysts as an unofficial Russian armed wing on the Black Continent, particularly in the Sahel. In countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic, it is a mercenary force employed by the respective governments.
Niger is feared to be the country employing the Wagners’ services. After the July 26 military coup in that country.
Days before that coup, on July 19, Yevkhuni Prigozhin was identified as one of those who spoke with Wagner troops stationed in Belarus after the invasion of Russian territory.
At the time, the same person, whose identity was not officially confirmed, mentioned Africa as a future location for the mercenary group’s operations.
“We need to prepare ourselves, improve and start a new journey to Africa,” Prigozhin reportedly said. “Maybe we’ll come back [à Ucrânia] When we’re confident we won’t be asked to shame ourselves and our experience.”
Since the uprising against Moscow, Prigozhin has been a ghost. What happened to him after the June Rebellion is the reason for the rumours. Leader Wagner was last officially filmed in the Russian city of Rostov in June, hours after his group captured the city, where a shootout erupted.
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