The abortive mutiny by Russia's Wagner group last week calls into question the fate of the group's wide network of operations in Africa.
According to Reuters news agency, Wagner operations remain active in Libya, Central African Republic, Mali and Sudan.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov vowed last week that Wagner operations in Mali and the Central African Republic “will continue” despite the failed rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the mercenaries, against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“At their request, several hundred servicemen are working in the CAR as instructors — this work, of course, will continue … Both the CAR and Mali appealed to the Wagner PMCs [Private Military Contractors] with a request to ensure the safety of their leadership,” Lavrov said in an interview with RT.
Libya
Wagner entered Libya in 2019 to help warlord Khalifa Haftar's assault on Tripoli to drive out the internationally recognised government.
UN sanctions monitors reported in 2020 that Wagner had deployed up to 1,200 people in Libya and the US military Africa Command said Russian military aircraft were supplying Wagner fighters there.
According to Reuters news agency, Wagner operated air defence systems and fighter jets from Jufra airbase south of Tripoli, with some warplanes arriving from Hmeimim where their original Russian markings were painted over.
Wagner is also accused of bringing fighters and mercenaries from other African countries and elsewhere.
Although Haftar's offensive ended in failure with a ceasefire in 2020, Wagner remained in Libya with a presence at Jufra and other airbases in the south and east that researchers say it uses as a springboard to other sites in Africa, according to Reuters.
It has also deployed at times around major oil fields and researchers say it has commercial interests in Libya that include energy output and local smuggling networks.
Central African Republic
Wagner mercenaries intervened in the mineral-rich Central African Republic in 2018 on the side of the government to quell a civil war that has raged since 2012.
The Russian ambassador to the Central African Republic said in a February interview with Russian state-owned news agency RIA that 1,890 "Russian instructors" were present in the country. Analysts have said Wagner received logging rights and control of a gold mine in CAR.
This week the United States put sanctions on a CAR company that it said was involved in financing Wagner through illicit gold dealings.
Mali
Both Russia and Mali have said Russian fighters in Mali are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops fight a decade-long insurgency against “Islamist militants.”
Mali's leaders seized power in 2021 and brought in Wagner after asking a French military mission to leave.
According to a Reuters report in 2021, the government is contracting directly with Wagner, paying around $10.8 million a month for its services.
Wagner fighters have been accused of involvement in an incident last year in Moura, in central Mali, where local troops and suspected Russian fighters allegedly killed hundreds of civilians.
Sudan
Western nations and diplomats say Wagner has been involved in gold mining, spreading disinformation and schemes to suppress protests in Sudan.
While Moscow has ties to both the military factions that have been locked in conflict in Sudan since April 15, Wagner is thought to have sustained a relationship with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rather than the army.
Wagner has denied it is operating in Sudan, saying its staff had not been there for more than two years and said it had no role in the fighting.
However, in May the US accused Wagner of supplying the RSF with surface-to-air missiles, "contributing to a prolonged armed conflict that only results in further chaos in the region".
