# A year after Wagner, Russia's Africa Corps hits even harder in Mali > Introduction: the same face, a different name - Author: Maxime Marquette - Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co) - Section: Essay - Published: 2026-07-03 - Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/essai-un-an-apres-wagner-lafrica-corps-russe-frappe-encore-plus-fort-au-mali ## Introduction: the same face, a different name ### A label change, not a change in method A year after officially replacing the **Wagner** group in **Mali**, Russia's **Africa Corps** is multiplying abuses against civilian populations, according to an investigation published by **Le Monde** on **June 27, 2026**. The **Wagner** paramilitary group had operated in this **Sahel** country from December **2021** to June **2025**, before being formally replaced by this new structure directly attached to Russia's **Ministry of Defense**. "They have the same criminal mentality," said a witness quoted by **Le Monde**, a sentence that shows just how little this name change has actually altered on the ground for Malian populations who continue to endure the most brutal practices of these Russian mercenaries. ### A damning Human Rights Watch report **Human Rights Watch** published a report on **June 28, 2026** documenting **"grave abuses"** amid renewed fighting since April, involving both Malian armed forces and the **Africa Corps**, alongside jihadist groups active in the region, according to **Human Rights Watch**. This report confirms, with figures to back it up, an intensification of violence documented since the start of the year, a trend that directly contradicts the stabilization promises made by the Malian junta when it renewed its partnership with **Moscow**. ## The Ousmane Ag Sidi case, a symbol of total impunity ### A disappearance that sums up hundreds of others The case of **Ousmane Ag Sidi**, documented in detail by **Le Monde**, illustrates the fate reserved for many Malian civilians caught in the grinding machinery of this violence. His story, like so many others, highlights the near-total absence of accountability mechanisms for abuses attributed to the **Africa Corps** and its allies in the **Malian Armed Forces** (**FAMa**). These disappearances and killings, documented case by case by journalists and human rights organizations, paint the portrait of a region where civilian life counts for less and less against the security imperatives proclaimed by the junta ruling in **Bamako**. ### A climate of impunity deliberately maintained The absence of judicial proceedings against identified perpetrators of these abuses fuels a climate of impunity that, according to several experts quoted by the regional press, encourages the repetition of these practices rather than their end. Neither **Bamako** nor **Moscow** has shown any serious intention of independently investigating these allegations. This structural impunity is, in my view, one of the most outrageous aspects of this situation: the alleged perpetrators continue to operate freely on the ground, without fearing the slightest judicial consequence for their actions. ## The spring 2026 escalation ### The April 25 attacks as a turning point According to **Human Rights Watch**, the security situation clearly deteriorated after attacks carried out on **April 25, 2026** by Tuareg fighters from the **Azawad Liberation Front** (**FLA**) and by the jihadist group **JNIM**, affiliated with **al-Qaeda**. These attacks triggered a response of redoubled intensity from Malian forces and their Russian allies. In the **Gao** and **Kidal** regions, **Human Rights Watch** documented at least **13 civilian deaths** and **25 injured** as part of this response, figures that, according to the organization, probably represent only a fraction of the real toll given how restricted independent observers' access remains in these zones of active conflict. ### Collective reprisals against entire villages Several accounts gathered by independent journalists describe reprisal operations targeting entire villages suspected of sympathizing with armed groups, a practice that resembles collective punishment striking indiscriminately at alleged combatants and civilians uninvolved in the hostilities alike. These methods, far from calming the region, instead fuel a cycle of resentment that pushes part of the civilian population, at the end of its patience, toward growing sympathy for the very jihadist groups they are supposed to be fighting — a result exactly opposite to the one officially sought by **Bamako**. ## The Moura precedent, a wound that has never healed ### Hundreds dead in 2022, still without justice The **Moura** incident, which took place between **March 27 and 31, 2022**, remains one of the darkest episodes of the Russian presence in **Mali**. According to estimates cited by several international organizations, at least **500 people** died in mass killings jointly attributed to Malian forces and **Wagner** mercenaries at the time. More than four years after these events, no independent, transparent investigation has established clear judicial responsibility, a silence that, according to several human rights organizations, encourages the repetition of similar tactics by the **Africa Corps** today. ### A memory that haunts current Malian relations The memory of **Moura** continues to weigh heavily on how many Malians perceive the Russian military presence in their country, fueling deep mistrust that paradoxically coexists with the junta's official display of support for its strategic partnership with **Moscow**. This tension between **Bamako's** official pro-Russian discourse and growing popular resentment over documented abuses illustrates an increasingly visible rift between Malian military authorities and a significant part of their own population. ## Chilling testimonies from refugees ### Accounts that defy comprehension Malian refugees who fled to **Mauritania** gave the **Associated Press** chilling accounts describing bodies found with missing organs and entire villages reduced to ashes by combined Malian and Russian forces. These accounts, though difficult to fully verify given limited access to the affected areas, align with conclusions documented by several independent organizations. The specialized magazine **ADF Magazine** also reported the case of a **14-year-old** girl who suffered a brutal assault while fleeing toward **Mauritania**, one example among many of the extreme violence endured by civilian populations caught in the crossfire in this part of the **Sahel**. ### A humanitarian crisis spilling beyond Malian borders This influx of refugees into neighboring **Mauritania** illustrates the regional scale of a crisis no longer confined to **Mali's** borders alone. Mauritania's reception capacities, already strained by previous migration waves, now find themselves overwhelmed by this new influx of people fleeing killings and armed reprisals. This regional dimension of the Malian crisis should, in my view, further alert the international community to the risks of destabilization threatening the entire Sahel belt if the situation keeps deteriorating at its current pace. ## The complicit silence of the Malian junta ### A strategic alliance that takes priority over human rights Since its strategic rapprochement with **Moscow**, the military junta ruling **Mali** has systematically downplayed, if not denied, accusations of abuses against the **Africa Corps** and its own armed forces. This defensive posture is largely explained by **Bamako's** growing dependence on Russian military and logistical support to maintain its grip on a territory fragmented by decades of insurgency. This strategic choice, favoring the alliance with **Moscow** over any serious accountability, illustrates a broader authoritarian drift seen in several **Sahel** countries that have gradually severed their historic ties with Western powers and their human rights demands. ### A rejection of independent investigations Malian authorities have repeatedly refused access to independent investigators seeking to document allegations of abuses in the regions affected by fighting. This systematic refusal considerably complicates the work of organizations like **Human Rights Watch**, forced to rely mainly on testimonies gathered remotely or from refugees who fled the country. This deliberate opacity is, in itself, an implicit admission that the Malian junta has something to hide about the actual conduct of its military operations carried out jointly with Russian forces on its territory. ## The West facing its declining influence in the Sahel ### A strategic vacuum filled by Moscow The gradual withdrawal of French and Western forces from the **Sahel** in recent years created a strategic vacuum that **Russia** was quick to fill, offering military juntas seeking legitimacy military support stripped of any human rights conditionality. This cynical trade-off between immediate security and impunity for documented abuses perfectly illustrates the transactional nature of Russian influence in **Africa**. For the **West**, this loss of influence in the **Sahel** represents a significant strategic setback, not only in terms of regional security, but also in terms of the credibility of its discourse on democracy and human rights against Russian partners who impose none of these constraints. ### A moral responsibility that cannot be ignored I firmly believe the **West** cannot afford to turn its back entirely on the **Sahel** simply because its influence there has receded. Continuing to document, denounce, and exert diplomatic pressure on those responsible for these abuses remains a moral imperative, even without a direct military presence in the region. Abandoning this file would leave the field entirely open to a **Russia** that, like **China**, **Iran**, and **North Korea**, shares none of the fundamental democratic values the **West** claims to defend globally. ## The murky role of jihadist groups in this chaos ### A region caught in a vise between several armed actors Beyond the clash between Russian-backed Malian forces and Tuareg armed movements, the persistent presence of jihadist groups like **JNIM** further complicates the regional security situation. These groups systematically exploit popular resentment generated by abuses attributed to the **Africa Corps** to recruit new fighters among an increasingly disillusioned civilian population. This perverse dynamic, in which repression directly fuels the very insurgency it claims to fight, illustrates the profound failure of the security strategy jointly adopted by **Bamako** and **Moscow** since the start of their reinforced military partnership. ### No simple military solution in sight Regional experts consulted by several media outlets agree that no purely military solution will durably resolve this multidimensional crisis, as long as the root causes of the conflict — economic marginalization, absence of legitimate local governance, and documented abuses by security forces — remain unaddressed in a coherent way. This absence of long-term political vision, on both the Malian and Russian sides, suggests the cycle of violence gripping this region for more than a decade now will continue indefinitely. ## Conclusion: another year marked by impunity ### A toll that keeps growing without consequence A year after **Wagner's** official replacement by the **Africa Corps**, the human toll in **Mali** keeps growing without any credible accountability structure emerging, on either the Malian or the Russian side. Testimonies gathered by **Le Monde**, **Human Rights Watch**, the **BBC**, and the **Associated Press** all paint the same damning picture of a region left to near-institutionalized violence. This chilling finding confirms that simply renaming a Russian paramilitary force is never, on its own, enough to change practices rooted in a doctrine of terror that treats civilian populations as acceptable collateral damage in the pursuit of broader security objectives. ### A call not to look away It would be easy for the international community to let this file sink into media oblivion in favor of other crises deemed more urgent or geographically closer to the **West**. But every documented testimony, every destroyed village, every grieving family deserves sustained, continuous attention, regardless of the geographic or political distance separating the **Sahel** from Western capitals. **By Maxime Marquette, columnist** ## Columnist's transparency note ### Editorial stance I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies. I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events. ### Method and sources This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here. **Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies. **Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations. When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**. ### Nature of the analysis The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted. My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors. This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text. ## Sources ### Primary sources - ["They have the same criminal mentality": a year after replacing Wagner, Russia's Africa Corps steps up abuses in Mali — Le Monde, June 27, 2026](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2026/06/27/ils-ont-la-meme-mentalite-criminelle-un-an-apres-avoir-remplace-wagner-les-russes-d-africa-corps-multiplient-les-exactions-au-mali_6716331_3212.html) - [Mali: Grave Abuses Amid Renewed Fighting — Human Rights Watch, June 28, 2026](https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/06/28/mali-grave-abuses-amid-renewed-fighting) ### Secondary sources - [Mali violence report — BBC News, June 2026](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmx7x3yjyko) - [Mali refugees describe abuses by Russia's Africa Corps — Associated Press, June 2026](https://apnews.com/article/mali-russia-africa-corps-mauritania-refugees-abuses-2935dd1b50397242a968f69e1dde61f2) - [In Mali, Mercenaries Have New Name, Same Tactics — ADF Magazine, January 2026](https://adf-magazine.com/2026/01/in-mali-mercenaries-have-new-name-same-tactics/) - [Mali: Human Rights Watch accuses FAMa and Africa Corps of grave abuses alongside jihadists — The Pan African Press, June 2026](https://thepanafricanpress.info/mali-human-rights-watch-accuses-fama-and-africa-corps-of-grave-abuses-alongside-jihadists/) --- Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/essai-un-an-apres-wagner-lafrica-corps-russe-frappe-encore-plus-fort-au-mali