The profound failure of russian mercenaries in Mali fuels resentment

When the infamous Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries announced its departure from Mali earlier this year, it proclaimed on social media that its “mission was accomplished.”

In reality, the group’s three-and-a-half years of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations had a catastrophic impact. The Sahel nation continues to be recognized as a global epicenter of terrorism.

“Despite its combat-ready reputation and occasional claims of public triumphs in Mali, the Wagner Group’s strategy has been plagued by a succession of failures,” stated the investigative organization The Sentry in an August 27 report.

The Kremlin has replaced Wagner with its own paramilitary force, the Africa Corps, which is under the control of the Ministry of Defense. Up to 80% of Africa Corps personnel are former Wagner mercenaries, according to a July 29 report from the Timbuktu Institute.

“The Africa Corps inherits Wagner’s history of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and acts of torture,” the report notes. “These abuses, often committed with impunity, foster discontent among certain communities and fuel jihadist recruitment that exploits various grievances.”

Through interviews with Malian military personnel, intelligence agents, and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Mines, The Sentry revealed that Malian soldiers deeply despise the Russians. They report that Wagner fighters disregard their chain of command and control, and Malians have attributed security deficiencies and operational errors—which led to losses of personnel and equipment—to the Russians.

The mercenaries’ brutal tactics and inconsistent approach to counter-terrorism have also failed to earn the trust of the Malian people.

“Since Wagner’s arrival in Mali, there has been a significant surge in attacks against civilians and civilian casualties, linked to Malian security forces and their allied militias. In fact, the Wagner Group employs tactics that indiscriminately target civilians.”

Reports also indicate that Wagner fighters engage in sexual violence and mass executions, exemplified by the 2022 Moura massacre, where over 500 civilians were killed, including at least 300 men who were executed.

In early 2023, United Nations experts called for an independent investigation into flagrant human rights violations and “possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mali by government forces and the private military contractor known as the Wagner Group.”

Experts stated that since 2021, they have received “persistent and alarming reports of horrific executions, mass graves, acts of torture, rape, and sexual violence.” Numerous requests for investigations in Mali have yielded no results.

Some Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) soldiers blamed the influence of Russian mercenaries on senior army officers for the Moura massacre.

One soldier told The Sentry: “Without Wagner, there would have been no Moura. Not on such a scale, not with such duration, not so many deaths.”

Malians attribute the heavy-handed tactics of the Russians to a surge in recruitment among Tuareg separatist fighters and terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Amadou Koufa, leader of the Macina Katiba, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militant group, stated in a 2024 interview with France24 that Russian brutality encouraged local residents to join the struggle to “defend their religion, their land, and their property.”

The Russians have attacked weddings and funerals with drones, while videos of Wagner fighters mistreating Tuareg civilians circulate online, further fueling discontent and recruitment propaganda.

“Local community leaders in central Mali often complain that Wagner has failed to permanently improve the situation in their region,” researchers from the Royal United Services Institute wrote in a January 2025 report.

Wagner suffered a crushing defeat in July 2024 when several terrorist groups attacked a large convoy of vehicles near the Malian village of Tin Zaouatine in the Northeast. Militants claimed to have killed 84 Russian mercenaries and 47 FAMa soldiers.

The relationship between Wagner and the FAMa deteriorated into mutual suspicion, according to The Sentry. Russian survivors accused Malian intelligence services of underestimating rebel numbers and abandoning them during combat. In response, Malian officers accused the Russians of ignoring chains of command, requisitioning their vehicles, and openly treating them with racism.

“We have fallen from the frying pan into the fire,” a high-ranking officer told The Sentry.

Anger intensified when militants attacked Bamako airport in September 2024, killing over 100 people. Wagner units were stationed nearby but reportedly waited five hours before intervening.

“If you don’t pay them, they don’t move,” an airport guard told The Sentry.

Charles Cater, The Sentry’s investigations director, declared that the Wagner Group’s intervention in Mali is a failure.

“Heavy-handed and ill-informed counter-terrorism operations have strengthened alliances among armed groups threatening the state, caused considerable battlefield losses for Wagner, and led to a greater number of civilian casualties,” he stated. “Ultimately, Wagner’s deployment was not in the interest of the Malian people or the military government, nor even in that of the mercenary group itself.”

Justyna Gudzowska, The Sentry’s executive director, affirmed that Mali’s experience should serve as a warning.

“As Moscow extends its tentacles into the Sahel and rebranding with the Africa Corps, it is crucial to fully understand that Wagner was neither the infallible fighting force nor the high-performing economic actor it claimed to be,” she said.

“The Malian example instead illustrates that the group doubly failed, and this should serve as a warning to other African clients considering employing the Ministry of Defense-backed Africa Corps.”