The gist On Tuesday, January 3, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed on LCI’s microphone that Russian paramilitary group Wagner had made France “their number one enemy” in Africa.
Does the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed Russian paramilitary organization, have a grudge against France? This is essentially what the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, said on Tuesday January 3rd. “Wagner, that is, Russia, has made France the number one enemy in Africa,” said the army chief at the LCI microphone.
“Wagner has made France his number one enemy with an aggressive agenda.”@SebLecornu on @LCI calls on African governments.
After all the French soldiers who died fighting the jihadists in Africa, Wagner poses another great danger. pic.twitter.com/1r7XGhkPhe— Darius Rochebin (@DariusRochebin) January 3, 2023
“French interests are being targeted and we must be extra vigilant,” the minister warned. “We see that Wagner has an agenda in Africa, we obviously saw it in Libya, we saw it in Mali, we see it in Central African Republic, as does the question of Burkina Faso, which can be asked quite quickly. There is an agenda of aggression, with weak states that have really given up on the fight against terrorism at times – this happened in Mali in particular – and who take out this militia as life insurance (…) So there is an agenda of aggression in Africa that we are monitoring and which we are dealing with,” he said.
“Hamper Agenda”
Regarding the devices used to combat the group, Sébastien Lecornu confirmed that “information means” were used. “The reality, however, is that we cannot damage the sovereignty of these countries” in Africa, where the paramilitary group is present. “If you have a country (…) that turns to Wagner, we must respect his sovereignty.
“We need an agenda of obstacles,” added the minister, who called for “a moment of accountability for African rulers, who must also refuse that scrutiny, not of Russia, but of a militia that sees itself as the perpetrator of appalling crimes.” “.
As a reminder, the paramilitary group has been suspected for several years of conducting the Kremlin’s basic work in the shadows of various operating rooms, something Moscow has always denied. Last September, the famous Russian businessman Evguéni Prigoyine, who is close to Vladimir Putin, admitted to being the origin of the formation of the mercenary group.