Algeria-US pact may have caused Russia’s military swap in Mali

Algeria’s secret military agreement with the US may be forcing Russia to recalibrate its military presence in Mali and the wider Sahel region.

According to Arab Weekly on 9th June, the replacement of the Russian private military contractor, the Wagner Group, with the Moscow-owned Africa Corps, may have been a response to a US-Algerian deal.

The Wagner group have played a critical role in supporting the Malian government reclaim territory in its north from rebel jihadist and Tuareg pro-independence militias.

Over the last three years, the Russian-proxy has been at the centre of government military operations, retaking the major cities of Timbuktu, Gao, Anefis and Kidal, asserting that “the territory under the control of the Malian government has doubled.”

“For three and a half years, Wagner fighters fought side by side with the Malian people against terrorism, and helped local citizens build a strong and disciplined army capable of defending their land,” the group has said.

Eyebrows were raised in January when Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding with the US focused on military cooperation, at the expense of its oft-sited strong ties with Moscow.

The Russian-Mali offensive and the subsequent retreat of rebel groups closer and closer to Algeria’s border could have made Algiers nervous for its own national security.

A pact with the US, though only a memorandum, could have been used to signal Algeria’s discontent with Moscow’s policy in the Sahel, and may have prompted or at least catalysed the restructuring of Russian forces in the region.

The Africa Corps is directly under supervision by the Russian ministry of defence, integrating Russian presence more into Putin’s grand strategy for the Africa.

After the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, in 2023, the centralisation of foreign military assets continues to be a priority for the Kremlin.

Arab Weekly, Arab News