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Business Daily: What are Russia's mercenaries doing in Africa?

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What are Russia's mercenaries doing in Africa?

31/03/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - Business Daily, What are Russia's mercenaries doing in Africa?

We look into the secretive Wagner Group's history of violence in Africa

We take a look at the secretive Wagner Group's history of violence on the continent. Why are leaders outsourcing security to an unaccountable Russian army?

The secretive Wagner Group has a history of violence in Africa. In this episode, we ask why leaders are outsourcing security to an unaccountable army accused of murders, rapes and torture. We look into the crimes they're accused of committing, the governments they're keeping in power and the business deals making it all possible.

Aanu Adeoye, an Africa expert at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs, tells us about the propaganda machine behind Wagner. Keir Giles, a Russia specialist at Chatham House, explains just how intertwined the group is with the Russian state, and Dr Sorcha MacLeod, chair of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, explains why the presence of groups like Wagner in unstable countries often makes things worse.

Presenter: David Reid
Editor: Carmel O'Grady

Audio for this episode was updated on 31 March 2022.

(Photo: Protesters in Mali's capital, Bamako, waved Russian flags during an anti-France demonstration in May 2021. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

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